Amy Dowden has received a royal honour from The King, and brought some special guests along to Buckingham Palace with her to collect it. Last year, it was announced in The King's birthday honours list that Amy would be awarded an MBE. This weekend, Amy was invited to the palace to receive her award and she took her mum and dad as well as her husband along for the presentation.
Amy's MBE is for her work raising funds and awareness for inflammatory bowel disease. Sharing behind the scenes photos of the day on Instagram, Amy said the day had been 'so special and one I’ll never forget', while she also vowed to 'forever do all I can to raise awareness, help break the stigma and be a proud ambassador for @crohnsandcolitisuk.'
For the special occasion, Amy wore a stunning head-to-toe purple look which was chosen for a sentimental reason. She said that she felt 'like a princess' in her Suzanne Neville dress, but revealed that she specifically wore 'the colour purple to represent Crohns and colitis.'
After personally receiving her MBE from The King, Amy posed for photographs in the grounds of Buckingham Palace alongside her parents, as well as husband Ben Jones. Later on, she celebrated with wider family and friends, sharing photographs of the group enjoying an evening out together in her honour.
Earlier this year, Amy had a flower named after her which was showcased at Chelsea Flower Show. To mark the occasion, she was once again joined by her proud parents during the event to officially unveil the bloom.
Amy has repeatedly praised her parents' support through her illness and recovery, revealing they even took time out of work to help her. Last year, Amy spoke on Lorraine about her dad, saying he’s ‘one in a million, he’s devoted his life to us children. Inspired us, pushed us, gave up everything for us to go on and achieve our dreams.’
