Top gymnast Beth Tweddle picks up her MBE in Palace investiture

Beth Tweddle, 25, has won a clutch of gold medals in recent years and has set her sights on glory at the 2012 Olympics.

The Prince of Wales presented the award to her during a Buckingham Palace investiture ceremony and wished her well for the London Games.

Tweddle successfully defended her European titles in the uneven bars and floor events at the European Artistic Gymnastics Championships earlier this month.

She is also the 2009 Floor World Champion after coming top in the event in front of a home crowd at the 02 Arena in London last year. The victory came after she suffered the bitter disappointment of falling in her favourite event, the uneven bars, during the competition.

Speaking after the presentation she said: "It's been totally surreal to get an MBE. I didn't really believe it at first. I waited for the letter telling me I was coming to the Palace before I did.

"I was surprisingly quite nervous before the ceremony. I was worried about tripping up when I walked in. Everyone kept saying to me 'you are not going to cartwheel in'.

"I train to win gymnastic medals but away from gymnastics the MBE is a massive honour."