Mr Eavis, 88, who is also a dairy farmer, hosted the first festival on Worthy Farm, Somerset, in 1970 and the event is still held there today.
The festival founder was pictured at Windsor Castle on Tuesday in a wheelchair receiving his honour from the Princess Royal. (photogallery on Dailymail)
Glastonbury is the largest greenfield festival in the world, drawing around 200,000 people each year, the biggest musical talent and a raft of celebrity guests.
In an interview with the official Glastonbury website, Sir Michael said his daughter Emily, with whom he runs the festival, had brought him the official letter about his knighthood, adding: 'I was really surprised to see it, actually. Why did they choose me, I wonder?
'What can I say, really? I've done quite a lot of stuff in my life and I've always been fairly sure that I was doing the right thing.'
Greenpeace, Oxfam and WaterAid all receive donations from the festival and the event aims to raise around £2 million per year, which also helps hundreds of local causes.
In 2023, the festival donated more than £3.7 million to a range of charitable causes and campaigns including homelessness organisation Centrepoint, food redistributors Fareshare, several refugee charities and mental health charity Mind.
Last year, Eavis sat in an office chair in front of hundreds of fans as he 'kicked off' the festival after recent health fears.
The crowd chanted 'Michael' as the 87-year-old was brought on to The Park Stage to perform a collection of classics at the festival in Somerset, as he recovered from an operation on his leg.
