Athletics star Jessica Ennis has received a CBE from the Queen - but was so nervous she forgot what she said.
The 27-year-old, who took heptathlon gold in last year's London Games, arrived at Buckingham Palace with fiance Andy Hill, whom she will marry this year.
Ennis, wearing a figure-hugging Antonio Berardi dress, said: "I'm feeling very excited, though it was nerve-wracking before. It's incredible to receive this."
Asked what the Queen said, Ennis replied: "You know when you're so nervous and you forget? She just said the summer was amazing, 'How's training going?', so it was very, very nice.
"It's all going well (training). I've had a bit of a cold so had a few days off. I've been training hard the past few weeks, it's going well."
Ennis was at the centre of a feel-good summer last year as Team GB made the nation proud with its Olympics medal haul.
"It still doesn't feel real, to be honest," she said. "It was just an amazing year for British athletics and British sport and to be part of that in such a big way was incredible."
2013 will be another big year as the athlete is set to marry Mr Hill in the spring.
"It's an exciting year again, with lots of planning and things to look forward to," she said.
Asked how many children they would like, she said: "I don't know. I definitely want a family in the future but still have a little bit more I want to achieve athletics-wise...I don't know, we're not sure. We can't share that with the world, it's private. I don't know, we'll see."
