Author Pat Barker, known for The Regeneration Trilogy, thought the letter announcing her damehood in the King's Birthday Honours was an income tax bill and that HMRC were "really angry".Dame Pat, 82, became a CBE in 2000 and is being given her damehood, one of the highest honours in the United Kingdom, for services to literature.The Booker Prize winner has published 16 novels, diving into anti-war themes including trauma and memory.

Author Pat Barker, known for The Regeneration Trilogy, thought the letter announcing her damehood in the King's Birthday Honours was an income tax bill and that HMRC were "really angry".Dame Pat, 82, became a CBE in 2000 and is being given her damehood, one of the highest honours in the United Kingdom, for services to literature.The Booker Prize winner has published 16 novels, diving into anti-war themes including trauma and memory.