The Crown actress Jane Lapotaire says it was ‘privilege’ to play Princess Alice

Actress Jane Lapotaire said it was “a privilege” to play the King’s grandmother in The Crown, after being made a CBE.

Ms Lapotaire, who played Princess Alice in the hit Netflix series, was honoured for services to drama at an investiture ceremony with the King at Windsor Castle on Tuesday.

The 81-year-old actress said she was “a bit partial to His Majesty” and had been in correspondence with the King since she played Catherine of Aragon for the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford.

Speaking about playing the King’s grandmother, Ms Lapotaire said: “It was a privilege to play her.

“She was an extraordinary woman who gave her whole life to the poor and sick, and she wasn’t affiliated to any convent, but she insisted on wearing a nun’s outfit.”

Ms Lapotaire added that “about two hours” after her series of The Crown aired, the then Prince William went to visit Princess Alice’s grave in Israel.

Receiving a knighthood on Tuesday morning, the former secretary of state for international development, Sir Andrew Mitchell, paid tribute to his constituents for “putting up with him” for so long.

“I’m so honoured and humbled and it’s been a wonderful day to be here for my family, but this is an honour which in truth belongs to my constituents in the royal town of Sutton Coldfield who’ve put up with me now for a quarter of a century,” he said.

The astrophysicist Professor Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell was made a Companion of Honour for her services to astronomy, physics and diversity.

Dame Jocelyn spoke about the need to encourage more women to work in the physical sciences.

The visiting Oxford University professor said: “When I was an undergraduate, there were 49 men and me, which was pretty rough.

“These days, women are still a minority, undoubtedly, but a third of the class might be female, so it’s looking a lot better, and women make very good scientists. There’s no reason why they shouldn’t do it, it’s something in our culture in this country,

“I think just if people can see that there are women doing science, enjoying it, being successful, making a contribution, I think that will normalise it a lot.”