On June 12, 1965, the British government announced that The Beatles would each be made an MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) by Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace later in the year; the selection sparked criticism, with some MBEs returning their medals in protest.
"We were at Twickenham Film Studios one afternoon when Brian (Epstein) showed up and took us to the dressing room rather secretively. We wondered what it was all about. He said, 'I've got some news for you - the Prime Minister and the Queen have awarded you an MBE,' and we said, 'What's that?' - 'It's a medal!'"
Paul
"(Brian) said, 'What do you think, boys?' I had no problem with it - none of us had any problems with it in the beginning. We all thought it was really thrilling: We're going to meet the Queen and she's going to give us a badge. I thought, 'This is cool.'"
Source: thebeatles.com