December 16 [10:00 EDT] -- Sir Elton John celebrated his knighthood with a fine dinner in the South of France yesterday, reports the London Daily Mirror.

The paper says the singer was all smiles as he dined at a posh restaurant with longtime partner David Furnish. John is on the Queen's New Year's Honors List under his real name, Reginald Kenneth Dwight. The Mirror reports that John, who received the award for both his charitable and his musical contributions, has dedicated the accolade to his mother, Sheila. The actual presentation will take place at Buckingham Palace sometime in 1998.

Today's announcement saw close to 1000 British citizens receiving various levels of citations. Also honored from the music industry is sixties singer Petula Clark, best known for her hit 60's song, "Downtown." Clark was made a Commander of the Order of British Empire, an honour John received two years ago.