In January, we learned that Game of Thrones star Emilia Clarke (Daenerys Targaryen) was going to receive the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire honor, or MBE, in recognition of her charity SameYou, which she started to help people deal with brain injuries and develop better treatments. Today, she and her mother Jenny — a cofounder of SameYou — went to Windsor Castle to receive MBE honors from none other than Prince William, who's filling in for his father King Charles, who's undergoing treatment for cancer.
Emilia Clarke with her Mother Jenny Clarke collecting their MBE and having a chat with Prince William at Windsor Castle, 21/02/2024 pic.twitter.com/rQFNqhR3uF
— Best Of Emilia Clarke (@ChaddersClarke) February 21, 2024
"I think I underestimated the magical nature of being here and the ceremony of the whole thing," Clarke said, according to The Daily Mail. "His Royal Highness William was just delightful and made us feel so comfortable." According to Jenny, Prince William was "very well briefed" about their charity. "I thought she was going to ask him to be on the board of trustees, but she held back," Clarke joked.
Clarke was inspired to start SameYou after she suffered two brain aneurysms while filming Game of Thrones. She kept that information private until near the end of the series. "There are times when it feels like an uphill struggle that you don't think you're going to reach the top of at any point," Clarke said. "There are lots of dark moments like that when you run a charity, and I speak for most people who run a charity who feel the same way. So to get something like this... it gives you such a boost of energy and momentum."
It's definitely cool to see Clarke get recognition for this kind of work. As for acting, she's looking forward to playing Oscar Wilde's wife Constance Lloyd in a new project. "That's now happening next year," she shared. "There's a huge amount that we don't know about her."
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