Amy Dowden gets MBE from King Charles at Buckingham Palace

Strictly Come Dancing star Amy Dowden has received an MBE from King Charles today (February 18) at Buckingham Palace.
The 34-year-old professional dancer has been formally made a Member of the Order if the British Empire (MBE). She got this honour for her services to fundraising and raising awareness of inflammatory bowel disease. And as she is an advocate ambassador for charity Crohn’s and Colitis UK.
An MBE is the third highest ranking order of the British Empire, after CBE and OBE. And after Amy’s own health journey with cancer, she was awarded today at the palace.

Amy was honoured today at the Palace (Credit: ITV News)

Amy Dowden receives MBE from King Charles
It was announced back in June that Amy would receive the recognition. At the time she said: “I am still in shock. But so thrilled to be made a Member of the Order of the British Empire. It is beyond my wildest dreams. I accept it on behalf of all those who live with Crohn’s disease. And I will continue campaigning to raise awareness for research into this terrible chronic illness.”
Today, Amy was handed her MBE honour from King Charles, himself. And the Royal Family shared their congratulations in an Instagram post, captioned: “Keep dancing,” with a glitter-ball emoji.
After receiving her award, Amy took to her Instagram stories to share the news with fans.
Resharing the Royal Family’s post, Amy added: “It still doesn’t feel real! I am having the most special day.”
According to the BBC, Amy revealed she and the King spoke about chemotherapy when they met. And that her award hasn’t sunk in yet.
She said: “We spoke about my recovery from chemotherapy. And the impact of chemo on my body. It really is surreal. It’s been like an out-of-body experience. But it was a true honour to get an MBE. And I will forever do what I can to raise awareness and fundraise for Crohn’s and colitis. And also, recently as well for breast cancer. Getting as many people as I possibly can to check themselves as an earlier detection saves lives.”