The Mad Max and Venom actor is a friend of Princes William and Harry and was among the guests at Harry's wedding to Meghan Markle in May.

He was honoured by the Prince of Wales at a ceremony where author Ken Follett was also made a CBE and TV historian Lucy Worsley was appointed an OBE.

Businessman and philanthropist Lloyd Dorfman received a knighthood.

Lucy Worsley and Sir Lloyd Dorfman after the investiture ceremony

Hardy's connections with royalty extend back to 2006, when he played Robert Dudley, Elizabeth I's favourite, in TV's The Virgin Queen.

It is also understood that he appeared with Princes William and Harry in a scene from Star Wars: The Last Jedi in which they all dressed as masked stormtroopers. The scene did not appear in the finished film.

The 41-year-old was nominated for an Oscar for his role in 2015's The Revenant and has also starred in such films as Mad Max: Fury Road, Inception and The Dark Knight Rises.

Ken Follett, who has been honoured for his services to literature, is known for writing such historical novels as The Pillars of the Earth, World Without End and his best-selling Century trilogy.

"I'm off to Buckingham Palace today," the 69-year-old author told his Twitter followers on Friday in a post showing him sporting a top hat and morning coat.

Sir Lloyd Dorfman, the founder of Travelex, is no stranger to the Prince of Wales, having been chairman of The Prince's Trust since 2005.

The 66-year-old donated £10m to the National Theatre in 2010, resulting in one of its stages, formerly the Cottesloe, being renamed in his honour. Travelex also subsidised the venue's cheap ticket scheme for 15 years.