Edward M. Kennedy: Awarded Honorary Knighthood

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British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has told Congress that Sen. Edward M. Kennedy has been awarded honorary knighthood.

The Massachusetts Democrat, who is battling brain cancer, did not attend Brown's address Wednesday to a Joint Meeting of Congress.

Brown told the senator on Tuesday night that Queen Elizabeth II had made him a member of British nobility. In his speech, Brown referred to the senator as "Sir Edward Kennedy" and called him a "great friend."

Brown said Kennedy had helped bring peace to Northern Ireland, expand health care for Americans and improve access to education for children around the world.

Kennedy, scion of an Irish-American political dynasty, is known in Britain for his involvement in the long process that led to Northern Ireland's 1998 Good Friday peace accord.