Westcountry Olympic sailing champion Ben Ainslie has today been knighted by The Princess Royal in a ceremony at Buckingham Palace.
Sir Ben Ainslie was one of a number of Olympic and Paralympic champions and key executives who were recognised at the investiture ceremony.
A hard-fought victory at London 2012 made Sir Ben the world's most successful Olympic sailor with four golds and a silver medal from successive Games.
After collecting his knighthood, Sir Ben said: "It is obviously a huge honour. It is something to be very proud of."
Now retired from Olympic sailing, Sir Ben, aged 36, of Lymington in Hampshire, has switched his focus to the task of aiming to win the America's Cup, which was hosted in Plymouth last year.
Sir Ben, who learnt to sail at Restronguet, near Falmouth in West Cornwall, was named British Yachtsman of the Year for an unprecedented sixth time in January.
In 2005 he was awarded an OBE by Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace.
Lord Coe was also given a special award and made a member of the Order of the Companions of Honour at Buckingham Palace.
He paid tribute to the many competitors who made London's Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2012 a massive success.
The Olympian-turned-sports supremo, who was a Tory MP for Falmouth and Camborne in 1992, was the driving force behind an unique summer of sporting excellence as the head of London 2012 Games.
He modestly revealed he is to share the award with his team at Locog (London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games), volunteers and the enthusiastic British public.
Lord Coe joined a list of just 41 living members, with previous winners of the award including Sir Winston Churchill, Stephen Hawking and Sir David Attenborough.
Speaking after the ceremony, he said: "It's a lovely honour and I'm deeply flattered but it is really signal recognition for the extraordinary work of so many people: our teams at Locog, the most talented, focused people I've ever worked with - passionate people - but also the people of Britain whose generosity of spirit helped get us across the line."
