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Ellen MacArthur to get Légion d'Honneur
24 Mar 2008
AWARD: According to Buckingham Palace, Dame Ellen MacArthur MBE is to be made a Chevalier of the Légion d'Honneur by president Nicolas Sarkozy during his state visit to Britain this week. The investiture will take place at the Royal Naval College in Greenwich.
The ceremony will see Dame Ellen join Pete Goss and Eric Tabarly as the only contemporary yachting people to have received France's highest accolade.
The French president, who will be accompanied by his Italian supermodel wife, Carla Bruni, will arrive at Greenwich by boat to meet the 31-year old yachtswoman, a star in France and a fluent French speaker.
MacArthur broke the world record for the fastest solo circumnavigation of the globe in 2005 - a feat the French enjoyed enormously; and the French enjoy recognising long distance sailors, especially single handers.
Francis Joyon, a Frenchman, broke dame Ellen's record earlier this year.
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