PEMBROKESHIRE author Sarah Waters has spoken of her pride and delight at receiving her OBE from the Duke of Cambridge at Buckingham Palace.

Sarah had been awarded the OBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours for services to literature.

She attended the ceremony on Tuesday with her partner Lucy and parents Ron and Mary, who still live in Neyland where Sarah was born and brought up.

Famed for her raunchy novels featuring lesbian protagonists, including Tipping The Velvet and Fingersmith, Sarah is one of Britain's most successful novelists.

Following the event, Sarah told the Western Telegraph: "It was a huge privilege to be presented with an OBE by Prince William in the glorious setting of Buckingham Palace.

"The event was grand, but also very warm and I got to chat with the other recipients, some of whom were being rewarded for bravery and others for years of charity work- so it felt an honour in itself simply to be receiving a medal alongside them.

"It was also a great thrill to have my mum and dad and my partner, Lucy, there with me. The Duke admitted to not being a book reader but said his father had recently introduced him to audio books."

Sarah's father, Ron, added: "For Mary and I it was an unforgettable experience and like Sarah we found everyone so welcoming, from the the armed constables at the palace gates to the staff inside the palace.

"We were very proud to see Sarah receive her award and later it was great to see the same warmth and good wishes that she has enjoyed from our friends and the people of Neyland being echoed by her friends and colleagues in London."

Born in Neyland in 1966, Sarah worked as an academic before writing her first novel immediately after her doctoral thesis.

Her debut, Tipping The Velvet, was published in 1998 to critical acclaim and won the Lambda Literary Award and the Betty Trask Award, given to Commonwealth citizens who have produced their first novel before reaching the age of 35. The New York Times also included it on its list of notable books of the year.

In 2002, Andrew Davies adapted it into a three-part drama for BBC Two, starring Keeley Hawes and Rachael Stirling, with Sarah making a cameo appearance.

Her subsequent books, Affinity, Fingersmith, The Night Watch and The Little Stranger, have also been adapted for the screen.