Lodsworth man chatted to Prince William during MBE award ceremony at Windsor Castle
and live on Freeview channel 276
Ronald 'Ron' Atkins was recognised by the Queen for dedicating his life to campaigning for jockey safety measures in 2020 but the pandemic meant the awarding ceremony had to be delayed three times.
He and his wife finally made the trip to Windsor Castle to receive the prestigious honour on Wednesday (January 12) and were greeted with a sunny reception.
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Hide AdRon said: "It went very very well. I have never been there before and the weather was really kind to us.
"We had no idea it would be such a nice day."
Though the Queen was in residence on the day, the ceremony was presided over by Prince William.
The Duke of Cambridge handed the Ron the medal and the pair chatted about Prince Charles' stint as an amateur jockey in the 80s.
"I reminded William about his dad's riding career and he said he doesn't talk about it very often but said 'I understand it was very short'," Ron said.
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Hide Ad"It was good and he was very open and relaxed — it broke the ice."
Ron said Charles was unseated from the horse a couple of times and in one instance even 'carted off in an ambulance'.
He also rubbed shoulders with television royalty as the 90s fitness guru Mr Motivator accepted his MBE on the same day.
54 other inspirational people attended on the day to receive an array of awards and medals.
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Hide Ad"It was brilliant," Ron added, "we have taken the grandkids there on a day trip but this time we were in the part of castle where the public weren't allowed into."
Ron said he enjoyed seeing military servicemen marching in full regalia as well as original Rembrandts adorning the walls of the Royal residence.
"It was like going back in time."
Read our original story here: Former Petworth jockey awarded an MBE for services to horse racing