--- title: Game of Thrones Actor Just Received a Real Royal Honor description: James Cosmo, who plays the former Lord Commander Jeor Mormont, received the honor of MBE from Queen Elizabeth II. canonical: https://time.com/5329349/james-cosmo-mbe/ author: Raisa Bruner article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-07-03T16:05:26.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-12T09:33:08.220Z og:title: A Game of Thrones Actor Just Received a Real Royal Honor og:description: James Cosmo, who played Jeor Mormont, received an MBE og:url: https://time.com/5329349/james-cosmo-mbe/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9155189db0fb84e5/6989347dbc6cfc8a543e65f2/james-cosmo-mbe.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3500 og:image:height: 1969 og:image:alt: Investitures at Palace of Holyroodhouse og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: A Game of Thrones Actor Just Received a Real Royal Honor twitter:description: James Cosmo, who played Jeor Mormont, received an MBE twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9155189db0fb84e5/6989347dbc6cfc8a543e65f2/james-cosmo-mbe.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # A Beloved _Game of Thrones_ Actor Just Received a Real-Life Royal Honor From the Queen > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with Ally. Ally is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: July 2026. ## Ally: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Ally is a digital financial services company offering online-only banking, including checking and savings accounts, through Ally.com and its mobile apps. Launched in 2009 as an original disruptor in financial services, Ally was built to challenge outdated banking norms with a simpler, more convenient way to bank. 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Terms and conditions apply. * Savings buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Savings Account. * No ATM fees from Ally Bank at Allpoint and Moneypass ATMs plus we reimburse for fees charged by other ATM owners nationwide up to $10 per statement cycle. * Early direct deposit offers eligible direct deposits up to two days sooner. * Spending buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Spending Account. ## Video: Game of Thrones Exclusive: Photoshoot Timelapse [Watch (HLS stream): Game of Thrones Exclusive: Photoshoot Timelapse](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/tzRPAcrY.m3u8) (1:01)  _Published 2017-06-28. Fashion photographer Miles Aldridge captures startling renaissance inspired photographs for TIME's Game of Thrones issue._  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Jul 3, 2018 4:05 PM UTC Fashion photographer Miles Aldridge captures startling renaissance inspired photographs for TIME's Game of Thrones issue.  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Jul 3, 2018 4:05 PM UTC **Warning**: This post contains _Game of Thrones_ spoilers. Congratulations are in order to the [Lord Commander Jeor Mormont](http://time.com/3924852/every-game-of-thrones-death/item//) of the Night’s Watch, also known in real life as actor James Cosmo. On Tuesday, the former [_Game of Thrones_](http://time.com/5323393/westworld-season-2-finale-game-of-thrones-easter-egg/) actor Cosmo was honored by Queen Elizabeth II and the royal family by receiving his Member of the Order of the British Empire, also known as an MBE, for his “services to drama” at an investiture ceremony at Edinburgh’s Palace of Holyroodhouse. Besides playing the beloved elder Mormont and mentor to a young [Jon Snow](http://time.com/5093870/golden-globes-kit-harington-emilia-clarke/) in the early seasons of the blockbuster HBO fantasy series (and serving as the exiled [Ser Jorah Mormont](http://time.com/5202148/game-of-thrones-jorah-mormont-brilliant-finale/)‘s father from afar), Cosmo has also garnered praise over the years for his roles in movies like _Trainspotting_ and _Braveheart_. He joins the ranks of fellow thespians like Emily Blunt and Russell Crowe and with this rank of honor. While Cosmo is no longer a regular on _Thrones_, thanks to a tactical plot twist back in one of the early seasons, his character lives on as an example of strong and moral leadership on the show. And now, his legacy as an actor has been cemented in the books of our own real-life history. Cosmo may be 70 years old, but he’s keeping up a busy acting schedule, too; his [IMDB profile](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0181920/) proves he has a number of projects in the works for the upcoming year. > [](https://twitter.com/RoyalFamily/status/1014140076572446720) ## Transcript [00:00] [ MUSIC ] [ MUSIC ] [ MUSIC ]. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5329349/james-cosmo-mbe/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5329349/james-cosmo-mbe/"},"headline":"A Beloved Game of Thrones Actor Just Received a Real-Life Royal Honor From the Queen","datePublished":"2018-07-03T16:05:26.000Z","dateModified":"2026-10-12T09:33:08.220Z","description":"Here's to the Lord Commander","url":"https://time.com/5329349/james-cosmo-mbe/","keywords":["Newsfeed","game of thrones","royals"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9155189db0fb84e5/6989347dbc6cfc8a543e65f2/james-cosmo-mbe.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Raisa Bruner","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9155189db0fb84e5/6989347dbc6cfc8a543e65f2/james-cosmo-mbe.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Investitures at Palace of Holyroodhouse","caption":"Investitures at Palace of Holyroodhouse","creditText":"Jane Barlow - PA Images—PA Images via Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5329349/james-cosmo-mbe/","name":"A Beloved Game of Thrones Actor Just Received a Real-Life Royal Honor From the Queen"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Game of Thrones Exclusive: Photoshoot Timelapse","description":"Fashion photographer Miles Aldridge captures startling renaissance inspired photographs for TIME's Game of Thrones issue.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/tzRPAcrY/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2017-06-28T23:20:22.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/tzRPAcrY.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/5329349/james-cosmo-mbe/","duration":"PT1M1S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/5329349/james-cosmo-mbe/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```