Andy Murray has described receiving an OBE from the Duke of Cambridge as a “special day” for himself and William.
The Wimbledon champion said he felt honoured to be awarded the OBE which capped a brilliant 2012 for the sportsman who won the US Open and Olympic tennis titles last year.
Murray went on to capture the hearts of the nation by winning the coveted championship at SW19 and cementing his place in sporting history.
The tennis star arrived well ahead of the investiture with girlfriend Kim Sears and his parents Willie and Judy, but before he appeared he tweeted about being held up by a drugs test.
William appeared to give a faultless performance as he presided over the ceremony, presenting awards, dubbing new knights and recognising the efforts of senior members of the armed forces.
Speaking after the event in Buckingham Palace’s lavish ballroom, Murray said: “It’s a great honour to be awarded something like this – it means a lot.”
The sportsman paid tribute to other recipients: “Speaking to some of the people and the stuff they’ve done it’s pretty incredible, it was nice to come along and receive it today.
“I’ve wanted to do it sooner but because of all the travel and stuff I’ve always been away on the dates that we’ve been given.”
Once feared to be another nearly man of British tennis, Murray has fulfilled his talent in emphatic style in just over a year.
Overcoming his grumpy image, the player connected with the British public as he took gold at the London Olympics last summer, beating Roger Federer in straight sets.
A few weeks later he became the first British man to win a grand slam final in 76 years, defeating Novak Djokovic in the US Open. His efforts earned him the OBE for services to tennis but more glory on the court was to follow.
The lack of a homegrown winner of the Wimbledon men’s title had hung over British tennis for decades, but Murray beat all comers and triumphed in the final – against Djokovic again – to become the first British man in 77 years to win the singles title at Wimbledon.
Speaking about his brief chat with William during the presentation he said: “He just asked me about what it’s been like after Wimbledon. I think he’s a big sports fan, he was at the Olympics, he was seen everywhere and I’ve seen him a couple of times at Wimbledon, so today was nice and it was his first time as well, so a special, special day.”
Murray is recovering from back surgery and said he had a rehab session planned for the afternoon but would probably stop off somewhere on the way home for a celebratory lunch.
Speaking about William he added: “I thought he seemed pretty relaxed. He seemed to give everyone a lot of time. It seemed like it went really quickly.
“We spoke for about a minute, he asked me about my back surgery and what it was like after Wimbledon and the pressures and stuff. It was a great thing to do at the end of the year, especially as it’s his first one.”
Murray revealed how he gently teased William about his handwriting: “After Wimbledon his wife had written a letter to say congratulations and she had amazing handwriting, and I had a letter from Prince William before and his handwriting was not good.
“And I just said, ‘could you pass it on that her handwriting was fantastic and thank you very much for the letter’.”