Prince Philip seen joking with Mary Berry in 2017

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Mary Berry, 86, travelled to Windsor Castle today to collect the honour, which she was given for her services to broadcasting, the culinary arts and charity Speaking before the ceremony, the Great British Bake Off icon said she wished her family had been there to see her be given one of the highest royal honours.

“I am absolutely overwhelmed to receive this very great honour. For most of my life I have been lucky enough to follow my passion to teach cookery through books and the media,” she told the Press Association.

“I just wish my parents and brothers were here to share my joy, as my only achievement at school was just one O-level in cookery of course,” Mary said during her touching speech.

“However, I am sure they are looking down and smiling. I will celebrate with my husband and family very soon,” she added.

Mary was named in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in October last year, but due to restrictions being imposed amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, she hasn’t been able to collect the honour in person until now.

The food writer, who helped a generation of people to cook in their own kitchens, became the nation’s sweetheart after she made her debut in 2010 on the hit cooking show, The Great British Bake Off.

Appearing alongside fellow judge, steely-eyed Paul Hollywood, they became an endearing double act during their time on the show, which was hosted by Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins.

Mary left the show in 2016, along with Mel and Sue, when it moved to Channel 4, and she was replaced by fellow cook, Prue Leith.

The much-loved TV star has fronted her own cookery shows, including Mary Berry Cooks, Mary Berry’s Foolproof Cooking, and BBC One’s Britain’s Best Home Cook, in which she appears as head judge.

However, the Queen of Cakes has shared it does not always come easy for her to create her show-stopping dishes, after suffering from polio as a young child left her with a “funny hand”.

Polio is a disabling and life-threatening virus that can cause paralysis in parts of the body and infect a person’s spinal cord.

Mary was 13 when she contracted the disease which resulted in a three-month hospital stay.

Thankfully the condition only affected the left side of her body but left her with a “funny” hand, which some TV viewers have mistaken for arthritis.

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Speaking on the importance of having the coronavirus vaccine, Mary said: “I had polio, but now almost the whole world is vaccinated against it.

“If you’re in a hospital like I was, with people in calipers, people in pain, people who weren’t going to get better.

“I think everyone should take the vaccine, not query it, and think of others.”

She added to Radio Times: “I was immensely fortunate. I only had it on my left side, and I’ve got a funny left hand.

“Everybody thinks I’ve got arthritis. I look a bit funny when I’m rolling pastry, but I have no other difficulties whatsoever.”

A damehood isn’t Mary’s first royal honour, as back in 2012, she was awarded a CBE for services to culinary arts, and said meeting the Queen and the late Prince Philip at Buckingham Palace was her “greatest memory”.

The mother-of-three has written more than 80 best-selling cookbooks during her lengthy career, and while she’s best known for her culinary skills, Mary is also a passionate supporter of many charities, including Child Bereavement UK, of which she is patron.

Mary was inspired to work with the charity, which offers support for parents who have lost a child, or for children who have lost a parent, following the tragic death of her son William, who was killed in a car accident in 1989 at the age of 19.

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