Dame Helen's investiture today

Helen Mirren has been invested as a dame during a ceremony at Buckingham Palace in London. After receiving her honour from Prince Charles, the 58-year-old star said: "It is just the greatest theatre I have ever been in."

Dame Helen, daughter of an exiled Russian aristocrat, said she had never believed she would receive the award. "It was just lovely. I just felt my mouth go ever so slightly dry. I just thought, 'Don't be so silly'. I am incredibly proud. I am amazed."
Dame Helen was accompanied by her husband, US director Taylor Hackford, her sister Kate Mirren and her grandniece Natasha Fitzgerald.