Whitby's England Lionesses striker Beth Mead receives MBE at Windsor Castle

Speaking on her Facebook page, Beth – who plays her club football for Arsenal ladies – said: “Wow! Words can’t express the pride I felt when I received my MBE today.

“Never did I think I’d be deserving of something so prestigious for playing the game I love.

“Proud day for me and my family, mum would have been in her element but she was definitely there at heart.”

The Hinderwell hotshot was awarded the MBE for services to association football in the New Year honours, just months after helping England Lionesses win the Euro 2022 competition, beating Germany in the final at Wembley Stadium.

And a truly great year was capped when she was crowned BBC Sports Personality of the Year in December.

Mead, who lost her mother June to ovarian cancer in January, has also said she is ahead of her recovery from an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury sustained playing for Arsenal before Christmas, but is not sure whether she will be fit in time for the Lionesses’ World Cup campaign this summer, in Australia and New Zealand.

Speaking on Sky Sports, she said: "I'm ahead of schedule so that's all I can do in my control right now.

"I wouldn't say I'm confident [of getting to the World Cup] because that's out of my control but I'm working hard to get as close to that as possible."