Royal honors for Olympians, Led Zep star

LONDON, England (CNN) -- Olympians, business leaders, designers and the lead singer of an iconic rock band are among those receiving New Year's honors from Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, the Cabinet Office announced Wednesday.

Robert Plant, the vocalist for the classic rock group Led Zeppelin, is on the list to receive a CBE for his services to music. Since the 1980s, he has enjoyed a successful solo career and performed with other artists around the world.

Jazz saxophonist Courtney Pine is also on the list to receive a CBE. Pine has released 13 albums, the first in 1987, and his recordings have landed in the music charts on both sides of the Atlantic.

"I am deeply moved to be honored," Pine said in a statement on his Web site. "I never imagined that I would be recognized for playing improvised music in the United Kingdom in this way."

Author Terry Pratchett, 60, receives the highest honor of a knighthood. Pratchett, best known for his popular Discworld series of comic fantasy novels, told CNN affiliate ITN he is "a bit embarrassed but quite pleased" to receive the honor for his services to literature.

"I never set out to write literature, but I suppose it's a nice catch-all term," he told ITN. "I have had a lot of fun over the past 25 years. I have written a lot of books and I have sold an awful lot."

The author joked that he will only use his new title of "Sir Terry" on letterhead if he is "writing to the magistrates," but he said it could help him campaign for better funding for Alzheimer's research. Pratchett announced a year ago that he suffers from the disease.

Pratchett said he continues to write, but the process has become slow.

Sports stars featured prominently on this year's honors list, including Formula One sensation Lewis Hamilton. The 23-year-old racer was crowned the youngest F1 world champion in a dramatic season finale in Brazil.

Hamilton, who receives an MBE, called it "a massive honor and incredible privilege" to receive the award.

"It is the most amazing culmination to what has been quite a year for me," he said on his Web site. "It has been an outstanding year for British sport as a whole, and it is great to see so many fellow sportsmen and women being honored today."

The 2009 honors list recognizes a number of British Olympians who shined at last summer's Olympic Games.

Cyclist Chris Hoy, 32, who won three gold medals in Beijing, is honored with a knighthood. Swimmer Rebecca Adlington, 19, and athlete Christine Ohuruogu, 24, who both won Olympic golds, receive OBEs.

"It's unbelievable -- I can't believe it," Adlington told ITN. "It's something you never think you'll have by 19. It's very bizarre but obviously it's such an honor."

British sailor Ben Ainslie, 31, who has competed in four Olympics and won three golds, most recently in Beijing, receives a CBE.

Businessman Peter Jones, 42. a star in the British entrepreneur reality show Dragon's Den, receives a CBE.

Anya Hindmarch, the fashion accessories designer behind the wildly successful bags emblazoned with the words "I'm not a plastic bag," receives an OBE. So does renowned interior designer Kelly Hoppen.

A committee within the British Cabinet Office assembles the honors list, which is released twice a year -- at the new year and on the queen's birthday in June. Queen Elizabeth awards the honors to recipients in ceremonies at Buckingham Palace.