FORMER Stormont first minister Arlene Foster has said she is "thrilled" to have received a damehood at Windsor Castle.
The ex-DUP leader received a CBE at a ceremony after having been named in the late Queen Elizabeth's birthday honours list back in June.
Mrs Foster was granted the Dame Commander of the British Empire honour "for political and public service".
She was one of many from the north named on the list, which also included Orange Order grand secretary Mervyn Gibson, and the head of the north's Covid-19 vaccination programme, Patricia Donnelly.
Following her appearance on the list, Mrs Foster, who was ousted as DUP leader last year, said the award would be an honour for her and for her former constituency, Fermanagh and South Tyrone.
She also said her new damehood would not affect how she expects people to address her, saying at the time: "I’ll always be Arlene from Fermanagh."
Following her deposal as leader of the DUP, Mrs Foster took up a broadcasting role with right-wing TV channel GB News, fronting weekly discussion show The Briefing.
She was also involved in providing the channel's coverage of the Twelfth of July Orange Order marches, alongside former Coronation Street actor and GB News contributor Charlie Lawson.
At the ceremony, Mrs Foster was presented with her honour by Princess Anne.
Others to receive honours at the investiture event was former Manchester United and England footballer Rio Ferdinand and Australian-born comedian Adam Hills, who formerly presented BBC NI panel quiz show Monumental.
In a tweet following the ceremony, Mrs Foster said she was "thrilled" to receive her damehood from Princess Anne, who she called a "wonderful role model for females in public life".
Mrs Foster added: "I was far from home but my thoughts were very much with the families of the Enniskillen bomb on this the 35th anniversary".
