The youngest person to have been made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) was granted by Prince William in mid-December.
At Windsor Castle, the Prince of Wales awarded the MBE to 11-year-old Carmela Chillery-Watson, recognising her services to charitable fundraising.
Carmela was just three years old when she was diagnosed with LMNA congenital muscular dystrophy, a muscle-wasting condition.
She has taken on an incredible 25 fundraising and awareness campaigns, all inspired by superheroes. She has raised thousands of pounds for Muscular Dystrophy UK and Julia’s House Hospice.
In 2020, she started a Wonder Woman Walk where she walked 1km and wheeled a further 9km everyday for a month. She covered an incredible 300km.
“I never would have thought that I would have got an MBE, I just wanted to do what I did to change communities,” Carmela said following the ceremony.
“But this is absolutely incredible. I just never would have thought this would have happened in a million years.”
She added the Prince of Wales was “very nice.”
The British government believes Carmela is the youngest person to receive the medal, however, its historical records are not complete.
Prior to Carmela, the youngest individual was Paralympic swimmer Ellie Simmonds in 2009. She was 14 years old at the time.
Carmela wasn’t the only person to receive the MBE medal. Bridgerton star Adjoa Andoh, paralympic swimmer and volleyball player Monica Vaughan, and Strictly Come Dancing host Claudia Winkleman were among the other recipients.
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