Northern Ireland

Is there a spelling mistake on Ian Paisley's gravestone?

<span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: sans-serif, Arial, Verdana, 'Trebuchet MS';  line-height: 20.8px;">According to English language sticklers it should read 'Honourable' - with a 'u'.</span>
According to English language sticklers it should read 'Honourable' - with a 'u'. According to English language sticklers it should read 'Honourable' - with a 'u'.

On the gravestone of  the former First Minister Ian Paisley it refers to 'Right Honorable The Lord Bannside'.

According to English language sticklers it should read 'Honourable' - with a 'u'.

Stephen Linstead, the chair of The English Spelling Society, said the spelling used on the controversial former DUP leader's headstone is American English, not British English.

"Americans spell it without the 'u'. The English use the 'u'," he said.

At least it wasn't the Irish language spelling.

A spokeman for the Paisley family could not provide clarification.

Ian Paisley died on September 12, 2014 aged 88. The ‘Big Man’ who founded his own church and political party was buried in a quiet church graveyard in Ballygowan, Co Down, where the Paisley family own three plots.

Other spelling issues on gravestones

Jimmy Savile

Jimmy Savile's epitaph referred to him as "Chieftan of Lochaber Highland Games" in 18mm gold letters on the six-foot wide and four-foot tall supersized grave. It should have been spelt chieftain.

Elvis Presley

On the singer's birth certificate his name reads Elvis Aron but on his gravestone he is Elvis Aaron. His father reportedly told the clerk the wrong spelling at birth but made sure it was the correct one on his headstone.

Isaac Bashevis Singer

When writer Isaac Bashevis Singer died, his wife included the title “Noble laureate” in his epitaph. Singer actually won the 1978 Nobel Prize for literature. His middle name was also misspelled.