The Australia entertainer famed for his alter ego Dame Edna Everage has been made a CBE by the Queen at Buckingham Palace.

Barry Humphries said he decided to collect the honour in person, adding: ‘Dame Edna is bolder and less politically correct than me.’

Dressed in a top hat in tails, the 73-year-old, who was marking 50 years in showbusiness, said: ‘Someone else who was getting a CBE said I suppose this is the end of the road. I thought perhaps I should ask the Queen if she had any future plans for me, but I forgot.’

Author Barbara Taylor Bradford, who was made an OBE at the ceremony, said receiving the honour was the ‘crowning glory’ of her career.

Taylor Bradford wrote the novel A Woman of Substance, which has sold more than 75 million copies.