Rocker Bryan Ferry was honoured with a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (Cbe) medal at Buckingham Palace in London on Wednesday (30Nov11).
The Roxy Music frontman was the guest of honour at Queen Elizabeth II's royal residence, where he was recognised for his 40-year music career.
The 66-year-old's four sons looked on with pride as he accepted the medal, and Ferry later spoke of his joy at receiving the prestigious prize.
He says, "Getting something like this is actually very humbling and I was very pleased to be recognised for, I guess, a long career and doing something I love doing.
"To get an official award like this is incredibly nice and quite a surprise - a very good surprise. I always knew I was going to be an artist - as soon as I left school and went to university and spent four years studying painting, I thought that's what I want to do.
"I got to a point where I thought I'd put a band together and make a record and if it doesn't work I'll go back to painting, but the band worked incredibly well."