The first above-the-knee double-amputee to climb Mount Everest has said the Princess Royal was speechless when he told her he is planning to scale more mountains.
Hari Budha Magar, an adventurer and disability campaigner, said it was “absolutely amazing” to be made an MBE at Windsor Castle on Wednesday.
Mr Magar, from Nepal, was a Gurkha serving with the British Army in Afghanistan in 2010 when he lost both legs in an IED (improvised explosive device) blast.
Hari Budha Magar meets the Princess Royal at Windsor Castle (Jonathan Brady/PA)
In 2023, the father-of-three became the first above-the-knee double-amputee to climb the world’s highest mountain after taking a campaign to the Supreme Court in Nepal to overturn a ban on people with disabilities climbing Everest in 2018.
“I told her (the Princess Royal) that I am climbing the seven summits. She couldn’t speak for a while,” Mr Magar told the PA news agency.
Mr Magar received the honour alongside 60 other recipients, including actress Rose Ayling-Ellis, who made history as the first deaf contestant on Strictly Come Dancing.
Born deaf, Ayling-Ellis, 30, was made an MBE in the King’s Birthday Honours for voluntary services to the deaf community.
Rose Ayling-Ellis was made an MBE (Jordan Pettitt/PA)
Mr Magar, who now lives in Canterbury, Kent, is aiming to climb the highest peak on each of the seven continents.
He has three to go and in February is set to take on Aconcagua, the tallest mountain in South America.
After losing both his legs, Mr Magar also suffered with his mental health.
“At one point I thought I was going to die soon because I was drinking so much to just control my pain and emotions,” Mr Magar said.
“I didn’t know how powerful the mind is. But I just wanted to live for my family. I started doing sports and gained my confidence.”
He was made an MBE for services to disability awareness.
The director of Britain’s oldest lace company was made an MBE for services to the textile industry and heritage.
Sheila Mason is made an MBE (Jonathan Brady/PA)
Sheila Mason’s family company, Cluny Lace, has been making the fabric for nearly two centuries. It is exported all over the world and has dressed royals such as Diana, Princess of Wales and the current Princess of Wales.
She told PA the Princess Royal owns some of her lace.
Mrs Mason, in her 80s, said she will continue to work at the company and help “in any way I can”.
She has written books about the heritage of British lace and said her company still uses machines invented in 1813.
She added: “They have been improved since then but we use the same machines which used to run by hand, then steam and now by electricity.”
Lindsay Robinson was recognised for services to perinatal mental health in Northern Ireland (Jonathan Brady/PA)
Mental health campaigner Lindsay Robinson also received an honour at Wednesday’s ceremony.
Mrs Robinson, from Belfast, suffered severe depression while pregnant and after her son was born in 2013, and has since campaigned for better support for mothers in Northern Ireland.
She was recognised with an MBE for services to perinatal mental health in Northern Ireland after years of campaigning.
In January 2021, then Northern Ireland health minister Robin Swann announced funding for new specialist perinatal mental health services in the region.
Mrs Robinson said it was “absolutely wonderful” to receive the honour.
“Knowing that mums and their families in Northern Ireland now have schemes and specialist services is amazing,” she said.
She added that work to establish services for new mothers in Northern Ireland is not over.
She said: “We still don’t have a mum and baby unit in Northern Ireland and I would be calling for that for mums and babies.”