Katie Couric's Notebook: Kennedy Knighthood
Katie Couric is on assignment.
Senator Ted Kennedy's close friend…Senator Chris Dodd recently joked that it's every Irishman's goal to witness his own eulogy.
If that's true, it's a proud day for the guy most Americans know of as Teddy.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced that Sen. Kennedy will receive an honorary knighthood, awarded by Queen Elizabeth to distinguished people who are not British citizens.
The senator joins other notable Yanks like Bill Gates and Steven Spielberg in the order.
He's receiving this high honor for a longstanding commitment to peace in Northern Ireland, an effort that helped make the Good Friday Accord possible in 1998.
It's clear that the 77-year-old man known as The Lion is in winter, living with a malignant brain tumor.
But as he told the New York Times, "I don't really plan to go away soon."
So hold the eulogies, but bring on the honors, for Sir Edward Kennedy.
Seth Doane reporting for Katie Kouric
