Lioness Beth Mead says it was ‘surreal’ to receive her MBE from Prince William at Windsor Castle

Lioness Beth Mead has said it feels ‘surreal’ to receive her MBE from Prince William following an investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle this afternoon.

The striker, 28, who won the Golden Boot at the Euro 2022 tournament, was recognised alongside fellow Lioness, defender Lucy Bronze for their win last summer.

Barcelona right-back Bronze also played a huge part during the championships, scoring against Sweden and playing a part in Chloe Kelly’s winning goal in the final against Germany. 

In a video posted to the Prince and Princess of Wales’s Twitter account this evening, Mead said it had been ‘an incredible day for myself and my family’.

She added: ‘We’ve put the game on such a good foundation now that we’ve got to keep growing and hopefully there’s much better footballers coming through than we are.

‘I’m excited to see what the next generation has to come.’

Mead and Bronze were awarded their MBEs in the first investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle since King Charles’s Coronation on Saturday.

The pair were among four of England’s Euro 2022-winning side included on the New Year Honours list.

The Prince of Wales awarded Mead her MBE at Windsor Castle in the first investiture ceremony since King Charles’s coronation

In the clip, Mead says the event has been an ‘incredible day for myself and my family’ 

Skipper Leah Williamson and Ellen White were the other players to be recognised following their triumph in July 2022 – the first piece of major silverware for a senior England team since the men’s 1966 World Cup success.

Arsenal defender Williamson lifted the trophy following a 2-1 extra-time victory for Sarina Wiegman’s side over Germany at Wembley, where a crowd of 87,192 – a record for any Euros match, women’s or men’s – were in attendance.

Williamson becomes an OBE, while White like Mead and Bronze was made an MBE.

Mead was also named player of the tournament at the Euros and claimed the Golden Boot, having scored six goals and provided five assists.