ACTOR James Nesbitt said he was "thrilled" to receive an OBE at Buckingham Palace.
The Coleraine-born star of The Hobbit and Cold Feet was recognised for services to Northern Ireland and to acting, after years of working to help families affected by the Troubles.
The 51-year-old was given the award on Tuesday by Queen Elizabeth.
Watching proudly were Nesbitt's daughters Peggy (18) and Mary (14), as well as his 88-year-old father Jim.
Nesbitt is a patron of Wave Trauma Centre, which supports people bereaved, injured or traumatised by the Troubles.
He has previously said that receiving an OBE will "give credence" to the families of the Disappeared.
"I've been very blessed with my work and very blessed to come from Northern Ireland, and for those two things to be on the citation was really rather gratifying," he said.
"To be associated with the Wave Trauma success story - a success story tarnished by the loss and the years of not having the remains - it really means an awful lot to me."
Nesbitt said the families of the Disappeared were people "who have gone through the pain, the real hard work, the searching".
"This gives credence to their cause, a cause which they have been fighting now for so long, to try and find the remains of loved ones so they can have some kind of closure," he said.
