Tom Hardy made a CBE by Prince Charles for services to drama

Film star Tom Hardy has been made a CBE for services to drama by Prince Charles at Buckingham Palace.

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.

The actor was awarded a CBE (Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) for services to drama in the Queen’s Birthday Honours, after making critically-acclaimed performances in The Revenant, Locke, Bronson and Dunkirk, and less critically-acclaimed performances in Venom and Star Trek: Nemesis.

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.

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.

Hardy is an ambassador for Prince Charles’ charity the Prince’s Trust, a youth charity that helps people get into employment, and was among the guests at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding in May.

He’s also well known for his love of dogs, having helped re-home a litter of abandoned puppies earlier this year.

Looking to the future, Hardy said that he has signed up to do three Venom movies, which would be made if the first one did well (it did).