London: She's been Australia's unofficial cultural ambassador in London for decades - now Kylie Minogue's success as Britain's favourite Aussie has been acknowledged with a royal nod.
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On Tuesday, the 48-year-old pop princess was "received" by the Duke of Edinburgh in the White Drawing Room at Windsor Castle and presented with the Britain-Australia Society Award for 2016.
The award recognises people who have made a big contribution to the relationship between the two countries - past recipients include Barry Humphries.
Lord Carrington, president of the Society, said Minogue "personifies the best traits of Australians and Britons - warm, amiable, easy-going, talented and industrious".
"The relationship between Australia and Britain is demonstrably stronger and warmer for her presence."
The Award was announced at a private dinner at Australia's High Commission in London on Monday night.
Watch @KylieMinogue reflect on receiving the Britain-Australia Society Award for 2016 from The Duke of Edinburgh, at Windsor Castle. pic.twitter.com/srSet6CpbE??? The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) April 4, 2017
In a press release, Minogue said she was delighted to accept the award.
"I'm a proud Aussie but Britain has a very strong place in my heart having lived and worked here for many years," she said.
It is not the first time the royal family has pinned its approval to the singer. In 2008, Prince Charles handed her an OBE for services to music at Buckingham Palace.
The latest honour was a happy moment in a year that didn't start well for Minogue, with the end of her engagement to 29-year-old Joshua Sasse.
Last month she revealed a new album would be partly inspired by the break-up.
"It has been an interesting few months, but fantastic for moving forward creatively," she said. "I feel like I just want to spread the love and that is what the album is going to be about."
Mike Stock, of 80s hitmakers Stock Aitken and Waterman, recently described Minogue as "the complete package ... a great little singer, a great-looking girl, a great little dancer".
He revealed that Minogue had been kept "hanging around all week" at their studio until they finally got around to recording her breakout hit I Should Be So Lucky.
"We had to get the song together in about 40 minutes and she left not having had a happy experience," he told the Guardian. "We didn't know we had a hit on our hands and so when it went to No. 1 for five weeks, someone said: 'What's the follow-up?' We didn't have one.
"So I went out to Australia at the start of 1988 and met her in a bar ... I basically crawled 100 yards on my knees and apologised profusely. She took it well and we did some more recording."
