It was a big day for Emilia Clarke, who picked up an honour from Prince William at Windsor Castle on Wednesday.
The Game Of Thrones star was made an MBE alongside her mother Jennifer as co-founders of SameYou, a brain injury recovery charity they established after Emilia suffered a brain haemorrhage in 2011 at the age of 25 and again in 2013 aged 27.
© GettyEmilia's first haemorrhage took place whilst she was at the gym during her time on the hit HBO Max fantasy show, Game Of Thrones. The 37-year-old went on to launch the charity after she realised there was inadequate support for people like her after being discharged from hospital.
The actress previously recalled: "In hospital, every day you're told you're going to die. Every day you're watched like a hawk, especially in a brain ward. You're woken up every two hours. It's this high-stakes scenario. And then three weeks to a month later, you're let out."
The Me Before You star even revealed that she "found a reason" to go back to hospital the day after being discharged as she was so afraid. "I was fine, but I was so terrified to suddenly be at home, and I was at home with a loving family. That's not [the same for] everyone, and the fear that you're left with," the star said.
© Alamy"I had this incredible nurse, but I was one of 400 patients that she had. She couldn't give me more than half an hour every three weeks. This is a day-to-day experience of living after a brain injury."
Following the ceremony, Emilia said Prince 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. The actress 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. Her mother added: "I nearly did."
© AlamyThis is not the first time Emilia and Prince William have crossed paths. The actress admitted that she struggled with royal protocol when meeting Prince William for the first time in 2018. When asked about the meeting during an interview on Late Night with Seth Meyers, she said: "It was good," pulling a nervous face to the laughing audience.
She further explained: "So it is a frightening thing going to the palace. When you're there, I was just relaxing and they [said], 'Prince' William is coming,' so I was like, 'Oh cool, great'. I'm really relaxed and everything is going to be fine."
She then added, regarding the protocol: "They were like, 'You can't turn your back,' so I was like, 'No worries,' and they said: 'You have to address him as your Royal Highness. Then after that you can call him Prince William and there's lots of formalities that you need to kind of adhere to.'
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"For whatever reason, maybe because I was so scared, I couldn't manage to get out 'Your Royal Highness,'" she continued, even acting out the awkward handshake with the chat show host. "So it was kind of like 'ra… ra…', it was pretty much all I managed," she giggled.
Prince William would have no doubt enjoyed meeting the actress since both he and Princess Kate are Game of Thrones fans. When a radio DJ mentioned she hadn't watched it yet, Prince William told her: "You should definitely watch Game of Thrones, that's worth watching."
The royal couple also told actor Tom Wlaschiha, who plays Jaquan H'ghar in the show, that they have "watched every series". He told the Evening Standard: "They wanted spoilers but I said I couldn't tell them. I'm surprised they have time to watch such a long running series."
