Barry Gibb knighted at Buckingham Palace

Barry Gibb harked back to his Australian days when he was knighted by Prince Charles at Buckingham Palace.

“If it was not for my brothers, I would not be here,” said the surviving member of the Bee Gees.

"If I had spent my whole life writing songs on my own, it would have meant something else altogether.

“I hope and pray that they are aware of what has happened and that they are proud. I believe in that."

Sir Barry, 71, who suffers from arthritis, said he had a quiet joke with Prince Charles after kneeling to get his honour.

The prince said, “You can stand up now” to which Gibb responded, "I don't think I can.”

Charles said sympathetically, “No, it doesn't get any easier does it?'

He was accompanied by wife Linda and three of their children.

Earlier this year, Gibb and his late brothers Maurice and Robin, were honoured by the Brisbane suburb of Redcliffe with the Bee Gees Way.

The family emigrated there from the UK in 1958 when Barry was 12, and the brothers launched their singing career in Australia.

At the time, the family was struggling, doing runners from one rental house to another because they couldn’t keep up with payments.

In 1967 they moved to London where they had international success, and Barry then moved to Miami where he and his brothers became one of the most successful writing teams of all time.