Sir Kenny, who managed Liverpool at the time of the Hillsborough disaster and remained a steadfast support of the families in their lengthy quest for justice, said he was “hugely proud to have accepted the accolade” for services to football, charity and the City of Liverpool.

IN FULL: Scottish recipients of the Queen’s Birthday Honours

The 67-year-old Glaswegian and his wife Marina have also helped raise millions of pounds for cancer treatment through the Marina Dalglish Appeal after she successfully battled breast cancer.

Scottish football legend Kenny Dalglish, who made his name as a player for Celtic and Liverpool, is to be knighted. Picture: AFP

Joking that he thought the letter informing him of the knighthood had been from the taxman, he added of the achievement: “We only set out to do the best we possibly could, even through all the other stuff - the charity or Hillsborough, it was to help people because somebody helped us.”

Among the other prominent names on the list is Oscar-winning actress Emma Thompson who has been made a dame.

More women, including a nun fighting modern slavery and a businesswoman who made her fortune in fake tan are among those honoured in this 100th anniversary year of women’s suffrage - although men outnumber women on the list.

Kenny Dalglish dedicates knighthood to Stein, Shankly and Paisley

Kenny Dalglish salutes the crowd after a Celtic v Liverpool charity football match at Parkhead, in aid of the Hillsborough Disaster Fund in April 1989. Picture: Allan Milligan/TSPL

As the NHS celebrates 70 years since its foundation, medics are recognised for their dedication, with health sector workers making up 12% of the 1,057 people honoured in the list.

Dame Emma, 59, who is described in the official citation of the honours committee as one of the UK’s most versatile and celebrated actresses, receives her honour for services to drama.

The Remains Of The Day and Nanny McPhee star is joined on the list by fellow actor Tom Hardy, who is also recognised for services to drama, receiving a CBE, while Keira Knightley is made an OBE for services to drama and charity.

Following a wave of terror attacks which struck the UK in 2017, former assistant commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Mark Rowley, who led the national response, is honoured with a knighthood.

On his retirement in March after 31 years in policing, Sir Mark was praised by Prime Minister Theresa May for his “dedication to protecting public safety and tackling the evils of terrorism”.

While there are no honours for local heroes involved in the response to the Grenfell Tower fire, the Cabinet has said it expects “acts of bravery and extraordinary community spirit” which emerged from the tragedy to feature on future lists, adding that its approach will be “time-appropriate”.

The brother of aid worker David Haines, who was murdered by Islamic State extremists, is made an OBE for his work against terrorism.

Mike Haines dedicated the honour, for voluntary service to tolerance and education in the UK and abroad, to his younger sibling, who was beheaded by Islamic State extremists in 2014 after being taken hostage in Syria.

Billionaire Jim Ratcliffe, the boss of chemical company Ineos who this year topped the Sunday Times rich list with £21.05 billion, receives a knighthood for services to business and investment.

Sporting stars are well represented among the recipients, with Premier League and England striker Jermain Defoe describing himself as “blessed and humbled” to be recognised with an OBE for his services to the charitable foundation set up in his name.

Defoe said he felt “mixed emotions”, with the award coming almost a year after the death of six-year-old football mascot Bradley Lowery, with whom the player struck up a strong friendship as the boy battled cancer.

World heavyweight champion boxer Anthony Joshua is made an OBE for services to sport, while 20-year-old alpine skier Menna Fitzpatrick, Britain’s most successful winter Paralympian, is the youngest on this year’s list, picking up an MBE for services to Paralympic winter Olympic sport.

In the musical world, rapper and singer Ms Dynamite is honoured with an MBE, under her real name Niomi McLean-Daley, for services to music, while Mobo Awards founder Kanya King receives a CBE for services to music and culture.

Japan-born Nobel prize-winning author Kazuo Ishiguro, knighted for his services to literature, said he was “deeply touched to receive this honour from the nation that welcomed me as a small foreign boy”.

Former Second World War nurse Rosemary Powell, who at 103 is the oldest on the list, is made an MBE for voluntary service to the Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal, having spent 97 years collecting for the charity.

War correspondent Kate Adie is made a CBE for services to media, while Stacey Dooley, known for her BBC Three investigative series covering topics ranging from the fight against Isis to the abortion debate, receives an MBE for services to broadcasting.

Among the politicians honoured are Conservative MPs Eleanor Laing and Bernard Jenkin, awarded a damehood and a knighthood respectively for their political and public service, while Labour’s Louise Ellman has also been made a dame for parliamentary and political services.

Scotland legend Kenny Dalglish knighted in Queen's Birthday Honours