The BBC made a Freedom of Information request in order to view the papers, which show who declined an honour between 1951 and 1999.
The BBC said that news of people refusing an OBE, CBE or knighthood usually only comes to light if they volunteer the information themselves – or if reports are leaked.
A total of 277 people appear on the list, and include painter Francis Bacon, Brave New World novelist Aldous Huxley, and sculptor Henry Moore.
Dahl is joined by a number of writers who refused an honour, including CS Lewis. They rejected an OBE and a CBE respectively.
It also showed that film director Sir Alfred Hitchcock turned down a CBE in 1962, but eventually accepted a knighthood four months before his death in 1980.
The BBC said that the Cabinet Office had been fighting the Freedom of Information request for more than a year.
Several celebs have been known to turn down honours from the Queen before this list came to light.
John Lennon famously returned his MBE in 1969 with a note that read: “Your Majesty, I am returning this in protest against Britain’s involvement in the Nigeria-Biafra thing, against our support of America in Vietnam and against Cold Turkey slipping down the charts.”
Picture: Getty
