Aretha Franklin has been awarded an honorary doctorate from a top U.S. university.
The Queen of Soul donned the traditional cap and gown as she was feted at Princeton University in New Jersey on Tuesday (05Jun12) and made a doctor of music, in recognition of her outstanding career success.
Referring to the icon's hit songs, school trustee Stephen Oxman told the crowd at the commencement ceremony, "With her singular amazing grace, she continues to traverse musical bridges over trouble water, and by remedying us to think, do right and call on her, the Queen of Soul will forever command the world's R-E-s-p-e-c-t."
Ironically, Franklin did not attend college, but she was also presented with honorary doctorates in music from Boston, Massachusetts' Berklee College of Music in 2006 and Connecticut's Yale University in 2010.