The inventor of the World Wide Web (WWW), its markup language, HTML, and its protocols, like HTTP, will today become a member of the most exclusive club of all.

Some members of the Order of Merit

Sir Tim Berners-Lee, a modest Englishman who arguably did more to create the internet than anyone else — especially the boastful Al Gore — will today receive the Order of Merit from the Queen. The Order is limited to 24 of the most distinguished people on the planet. It’s in the personal gift of the Queen, not the politicians, so carries far greater kudos than the buyable baubles dished out to friends of Downing Street.

There will be no fuss or fanfare, no procession of the great and the good. The members will wear simple lounge suits, and few onlookers will even notice the cars entering Buckingham Palace this morning, or know that the occupants will have lunch with the Queen and Prince Philip.

Before the main event, the Queen will have a private chat with the newest member, Sir Tim, and present him with his decoration, a small blue and crimson cross with a laurel wreath in the centre and a gold inscription : “For Merit”.

Sir Tim Berners-Lee, OM

The Order has existed for 105 years and had a total of 174 members. Recipients have included, Thomas Hardy, Sir Edward Elgar, Florence Nightingale, Henry Moore and Sir Winston Churchill. More recently, Margaret Thatcher was made an OM, as was Betty Boothroyd, the first woman Speaker of the House of Commons.

It’s a suitable honour for Berners-Lee, whose work is made use of by almost everyone on Earth on a daily basis. It’s hard to think of anyone who has had such an impact on the life of the planet and yet is almost totally unknown. No Paris Hilton he. Membership of this elite Order is perhaps the perfect decoration for such a modest man.

The words “For Merit” are well chosen. Today’s world is full of trashy icons with no merit except a talent for self-promotion. Many crash and burn like the flimsy creations they are. Yet there are still people out there like Berners-Lee, but their depth of intellect and pioneering spirit are not valued by many, or the populist media that serve them.

Thankfully Britain still has ways of celebrating them, albeit with a small cross and lunch with the Monarch and peers of their merit.

Syntagma salutes Sir Tim, OM, and celebrates his achievements.