TOP women's footballer Casey Stoney spent the morning at Buckingham Palace as she was made an MBE in honour of her dedication to sport.

The former England captain, born and raised in Basildon, was surrounded by her parents and long term partner as she collected her medal from Princess Anne.

The 33 year-old Arsenal defender even got the Princess Royal talking about football, as the pair discussed this weekend's upcoming match against Birmingham City.

Dad Phil Stoney, 65, who now lives in Rayleigh, said: "It was such a good day, I felt very proud.

"The ceremony itself was actually a sombre affair. They is no clapping and you've got to be on best behaviour.

"Casey was really excited, she didn't really seem nervous at all.

"She had to leave Buckingham Palace to get to the airport and fly out to Portugal for work, so we weren't able to do anything to celebrate after. Hopefully we can do something after the game at the weekend."

Casey discovered her talents footballing talents while playing in the boys team at Runwell Primary School, in Wickford, because there were no girls teams around at the time.

She went on to join Chelsea Ladies at the age of 12, and honed her skills at the FA’s National Player Development Centre after receiving a scholarship.

Casey previously dedicated her MBE to the coaches, team mates, and relatives who have supported her throughout her career.

After yesterday's ceremony, she took to social media to tweet: "I had an amazing morning inside Buckingham Palace. Princess Anne even wished Arsenal Ladies good luck for Sunday!"

Casey was praised for coming out as gay last year in a bid to stamp out homophobia in sport.

Her partner Megan Harris, a former Lincoln Ladies footballer, gave birth to the couple's twins Teddy and Tilly nine months ago after IVF treatment.