Prince William, Emilia Clarke and her mother Jennifer at Windsor Castle on February 21.Photo:The Prince and Princess of Wales/Instagram
The Prince and Princess of Wales/Instagram
On Wednesday, the Prince of Wales, 41, presented theGame of Thronesstar and her mother, Jennifer Clarke, with Most Excellent Order of the British Empire medals in recognition of their services to people with brain injuries as founders of the charitySameYou.
“From Westeros to Windsor, a real pleasure presenting@emilia_clarkeand her mum Jennifer with their honours today for their charity work with@sameyouorgsupporting brain injury recovery care 🎖️ Congratulations to all of today’s recipients!” Prince William’s team captioned a montage of the ceremony onInstagram.
The mother and daughter smiled as the Prince of Wales pinned on the insignias and spoke about what the recognition meant.
“Well, it was such an honor personally, but more importantly, we started the charity because the consequences of brain injury are just so unknown,” Jennifer began.
“To have an award like this… cherry on the cake,” Emilia, 37, said. “I’m going to get my photo taken because of this award. And people are going to say, ‘Why is this person, who we recognize, got this award?’ And we’re going to say, ‘It’s for brain injury recovery.’ ”
“We’re doing it to try and help other people who have been doing it for a lot longer than us, make the changes that are so desperately needed for people,” Jennifer added.
Emilia Clarke and Jennifer Clarke after being made Members of the Order of the British Empire during an investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle, on February 21.Andrew Matthews - Pool/Getty
Andrew Matthews - Pool/Getty
News of the Clarkes' awards was announced in King Charles’2024 New Year Honours Listin December 2023, recognizing those in the U.K. who have demonstrated exemplary service or achievement in their respective fields. The mother and daughter established SameYou to raise money and awareness for people recovering from brain injuries and strokes after a health scare directly affected their family.
Emilia, who played Queen Daenerys Targaryen onGame of Thronesduring its eight-season run from 2011 to 2019,suffered two aneurysmsin 2011 and 2013, sharing her story for the first time ina 2019 essay forThe New Yorkerpublished shortly before the final season’s premiere.
“The whole experience inspired me to launch my charity SameYou,” Emiliatold PEOPLEthat November. “People’s lives are transformed completely after a brain injury, and the core of our work is recovery — it’s not just the first weeks that you need help, you still need help for years. I wanted to match someone with a consistent person who has the answers and can hold their hand and tell them that they’re not alone. Being there when someone is scared, confused or angry is one of the kindest things you can do.”
Emilia Clarke poses for a photo after being made a Member of the Order of the British Empire during an investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle, on February 21.Andrew Matthews - Pool/Getty Images
Andrew Matthews - Pool/Getty Images
“So it’s kind of a frightening thing going, to the palace. There’s a whole thing,” she said, explaining that she was told to not turn her back and address Prince William as “Your Royal Highness.”
“For whatever reason, maybe because I was so scared, I couldn’t manage to get out ‘Your Royal Highness.’ So it was kind of like ‘Ra, ra,’ was pretty much all I managed,” she joked to the host.
The Prince of Wales haspreviously sharedthat he and his wife,Kate Middleton(who is currently recovering fromabdominal surgery), are big fans of the hit HBO show. The couple revealed they watched the series while eating curry takeout in their “comfy clothes.”
Prince William and Kate Middleton at St Davids Cathedral to commemorate the life of Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on the first anniversary of her passing on September 08, 2023 in St Davids, Wales.Chris Jackson/Getty Images
Chris Jackson/Getty Images
When the royals metGame of Thronesactor Tom Wlaschiha (who plays Jaqen H’ghar) during a visit to Berlin, they reportedly tried to get a few spoilers out of him.
“They said they really likedGame of Thronesand have watched every series,” Wlaschiha said. “They wanted spoilers, but I said I couldn’t tell them.”
Prince William and Princess Kate might not be the only fans of the franchise in the family, either! In 2020,King CharlesandQueen Camillatook time to tour a special willow Iron Throne that was made for a party to celebrate the premiere of the final season ofGame of Thronesat the Ulster Museum in Belfast, Northern Ireland, in 2020.
A few years prior,Queen Elizabethand Prince Philip also toured the set ofGame of Thronesin Northern Ireland. During the stop in 2014, Queen Elizabeth was led into the throne room where she met cast members and came face-to-face with the Iron Throne — but she declined an invitation to test it out.
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Prince William is back to royal duties this week after taking time off with Princess Kate amid her ongoing recovery and their three children — Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis — while they were on a school break. Theyspent the family time at Anmer Hall, their country home on the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk.
source: people.com
