Games of Thrones star Emilia Clarke is joined by her mother as she's given gong by Prince William at Windsor Castle for setting up brain injury charity - as Spoons boss Tim Martin and Sajid Javid are knighted

Game of Thrones star Emilia Clarke was today joined by her beaming mother as she received an award from Prince William for setting up a brain injury charity at Windsor Castle.

The actress appeared to giggle as she spoke to the future King during the prestigious ceremony.

Former Chancellor Sir Sajid Javid was also among those to be knighted by the Prince of Wales for his services to politics and public life, with his proud family watching on in the background.

Wetherspoons boss Sir Tim Martin is also collecting honours at the investiture ceremony today.

William, who is stepping up in his father King Charles’ absence from royal duties amid his cancer battle, chatted warmly with attendees. It comes less than 24 hours after he released a public statement calling for the fighting in Gaza to end.

Emilia Clarke and her mother Jennifer Clarke pose after being awarded MBEs

Emilia Clarke beams as she shakes hands with the Prince of Wales at Windsor Castle today

Emilia Clarke beams as she shakes hands with the Prince of Wales at Windsor Castle today

Sajid Javid was among those to be knighted by Prince William at Windsor Castle today

The former chancellor’s proud family watched on as he was awarded the prestigious honour for his political and public services

Clarke has been made an MBE alongside her mother Jenny as co-founders of SameYou, a brain injury recovery charity they established after the actress survived two brain haemorrhages.

Clarke said that she felt ‘ill-equipped’ to be a normal person again after she almost died from a brain haemorrhage.

She was made an MBE alongside her mother Jenny as co-founders of SameYou, a brain injury recovery charity they established after the actress survived two brain haemorrhages.

The charity focuses on the rehabilitation of patients after they leave hospital.

READ MORE: Wetherspoon boss and Brexit campaigner Tim Martin is handed a knighthood after Kemi Badenoch reportedly pushed for pub landlord to be honoured 

Clarke had her first brain haemorrhage in 2011, a month after she had finished filming the first season of Game Of Thrones.

She said the hardest part of her illness was coming home and realising she was on her own.

‘You spend a month in hospital, every day they tell you you’re going to die,’ she said.

‘And then you go home, and you have to live with that.

‘I found that incredibly difficult, and my family found it incredibly difficult.

‘You are so taken care of, and so supported, and then you are let out into the world.

‘And it seems terrifying, and you feel like you are ill-equipped to be a normal person again because you have just been told that you are going to die every three seconds.

‘That was the hardest adjustment, and then I did a film set and I said: ‘Oh, this is mental anyway’, so…’

Clarke said William made her and her mother feel ‘so comfortable’ while he presented them with their honours.

‘I think I underestimated the magical nature of being here and the ceremony of the whole thing,’ she said.

‘His Royal Highness William was just delightful and made us feel so comfortable.’

Her mother said that William was ‘very well briefed’ about their charity and why they were there.

Clarke joked that she thought her mother was going to ask the prince to be on the board of trustees.

‘I thought she was going to ask him to be on the board of trustees, but she didn’t,’ she said.

Game Of Thrones star Ms Clarke has been made an MBE alongside her mother Jenny as co-founders of SameYou

Clarke and her mother pose and smile after being awarded MBEs at Windsor Castle today

Clarke said William made her and her mother feel ‘so comfortable’ while he presented them with their honours

Clarke joked that she thought her mother was going to ask the prince to be on the board of trustees

Her mother added: ‘I nearly did.’

The actress said that running a charity ‘is one of the hardest things I’ve had to do’.

‘There are times when it feels like an uphill struggle that you don’t think you’re going to reach the top of at any point,’ she said.

‘There are lots of dark moments like that when you run a charity, and I speak for most people who run a charity who feel the same way.

‘So to get something like this… it gives you such a boost of energy and momentum.’

Asked about her next project, Clarke said that she had a few new productions in the pipeline, including An Ideal Wife, a film about Oscar Wilde’s spouse, Constance Lloyd.

‘That’s now happening next year,’ she said.

‘I am playing Oscar Wilde’s wife.’

She added: ‘There’s a huge amount that we don’t know about her.’

Among the first to be knighted was Sir Sajid, who served as chancellor under Boris Johnson. He entered the Commons as the MP for Bromsgrove in May 2010 with a majority of more than 11,000 and has increased his share of the vote in every election since.

Taking on the roles of home secretary, chancellor and health secretary during his career, he also put himself forward for the Tory leadership twice.

The Right Honourable Sir Sajid Javid is made a Knight Bachelor by the Prince of Wales at Windsor Castle

Sajid Javid shakes hands with Prince William and smiles as he is awarded a knighthood at Windsor Castle

Sajid Javid shakes hands with Prince William and smiles as he is awarded a knighthood at Windsor Castle

The former chancellor looked delighted to be awarded the prestigious honour from the Prince of Wales

It was his resignation from Boris Johnson’s cabinet, together with Rishi Sunak, that spelled the beginning of the end for the former prime minister’s premiership.

Sir Sajid had previously left his chancellor role abruptly in 2020 after being told he must sack all his advisers if he wished to keep his job.

Elsewhere, Wetherspoons boss Sir Tim, who was a vocal Brexit supporter during the 2016 referendum campaign, has been recognised for his services to hospitality and culture.

Sir Tim built up his pub group after buying his first venue in Muswell Hill, north London, in 1979.

The Norwich-born businessman initially called it Martin’s Free House but changed it to JD Wetherspoon the following year.

The pub chain, known for its low pricing, floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1992 and continued a rapid expansion across the UK.

Elizabeth Gregory (Betsy Gregory) is made an OBE by the Prince of Wales at Windsor Castle for services to dance

Ms Gregory shakes hands with the Prince of Wales as she is awarded an OBE by the future King

Dame Siobhain McDonagh is honoured for her parliamentary and political service

Labour’s Siobhain McDonagh, a party stalwart who has been an MP since 1997, was also recognised

Labour’s Siobhain McDonagh, a party stalwart who has been an MP since 1997, was also recognised

Dame Siobhain McDonagh, wearing a glamorous pink dress, poses with her CBE

Lydia Otter after being made an MBE for services to People with Autism and their Families in Oxfordshire

Ms Otter poses with her MBE in the grounds of Windsor Castle this afternoon

The first, a bleed on the brain, happened while she was working out in a north London gym in 2011.

She founded the charity after she was shocked to find out how understaffed rehabilitation services were.

Other people who will be recognised at the investiture ceremony include Labour MP Dame Siobhain McDonagh, for political and public service; director Betsy Gregory, for services to dance; and Lydia Otter, for services to people with autism and their families in Oxfordshire.

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