Milton Keynes' home-grown footballer Leah Williamson speaks of her pride in receiving OBE

The city’s famous footballer Leah Williamson was presented with her Order of the British Empire (OBE) medal by Prince William yesterday (Wednesday) .

The ceremony took place at Windsor Castle and Leah’s proud family travelled from their Milton Keynes home to watch.

The Lionesses captain, who is currently recovering from an injury, was named in the King's New Year's Honours list at the end of last new.

The honour followed England's triumph in the UEFA Women's EURO 2022, which Prince William attended in his role as President of the Football Association.

Leah was the first England captain since Bobby Moore to receive a trophy for England. And Prince William was among the line-up of officials to congratulate her and her fellow players as they collected their medals. He exchanged handshakes with most of the team, but gave Leah a big hug.

She later said: "I think I went to shake his hand and he said, 'Leah, bring it in' and I said, 'Thank you sir'. He was like, 'I’m very proud of you all'.

Leah damaged her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in her knee in April and this prevented her from playing in her team’s World Cup tour of Australia and New Zealand.

"I went in for a normal tackle and the universe said no...The road to recovery is long,” she said.

This summer the Arsenal defender was prevented from joining England's World Cup tour of Australia and New Zealand because she was still receiving intense physio for the injury. She hopes to start playing again with the team in January.

She spoke this week of her pride in being presented with her OBE at Windsor Castle.

"It was really lovely to spend the day with my family in this beautiful setting,” she said.

"It's nice to have a moment to reflect on my own journey. It's been a very testing time, so to be recognised for my sporting achievement, I'm taking a proud moment."

Leah was raised in Newport Pagnell and was a former pupil at Portfields School in the town.