Ellie Goulding receives MBE from Prince William at Windsor Castle for her services to biodiversity and the climate – 15 years after performing at his wedding to Kate Middleton

Ellie Goulding received an MBE from Prince William at Windsor Castle on Wednesday for her services to biodiversity and the climate – 15 years after performing at his wedding to Kate Middleton.

The singer, 39, who welcomed her second child in March beamed as her Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) was pinned to her white peplum blazer.

She wore a white suit which had a brown detail running around the hips and she completed the look with a netted hat.

Ellie is a global environmental ambassador for the UN and was recognised in the New Year’s Honours list.

Taking to Instagram in January, Ellie shared several photos of herself engaged in activist work, including speaking at the UN and with former US Vice President Kamala Harris.

Ellie Goulding received an MBE from Prince William at Windsor Castle on Wednesday for her services to biodiversity and the climate as she called it a ‘great honour’

The singer, 39, who welcomed her second child in March beamed as her Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) was pinned to her white peplum blazer

She proudly stood outside the castle while holding up her MBE

Alongside the post, she wrote: ‘It is such a great honour to receive an MBE for services to biodiversity and climate. From the get go I have been guided and helped by women in this space.

‘Last year we really saw and felt how much the climate and nature crisis is intensifying.

‘But we continue to be carried forward by the incredible women holding the line – scientists, activists, lawyers, communicators, teachers, farmers, mothers, aunties, Indigenous leaders, and youth voices.

‘The talent pool is deep, fearless, and just keeps charging forwards. I am lifted on the shoulders of giants. Extremely proud.

‘Thank you for the tremendous amount of love and congratulations I’ve received the past week. Love, Dr Ellie Goulding MBE x.’

Ellie has been friends with Prince William for many years and performed at his 2011 wedding reception to Kate Middleton, singing a cover of Your Song for the couple’s first dance.

She reunited with them at the Earthshot Prize Awards in Boston in 2022 and was previously rumoured to have dated Prince Harry.

In 2013, Ellie took part in the Chime For Change concert, a global female empowerment initiative founded by Beyonce Knowles, actress Salma Hayek-Pinault and former Gucci creative director Frida Giannini to raise awareness for women’s issues related to education, health and justice.

She is also patron of The Marylebone Project, which provides services for homeless women, and is an ambassador for the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).

She was appointed a global goodwill ambassador for the UN Environment Programme in 2017 and is now a global environmental ambassador.

Ellie is a global environmental ambassador for the UN and was recognised in the New Years Honours list

Ellie has been friends with Prince William for many years and performed at his 2011 wedding reception to Kate Middleton, singing a cover of Your Song for the couple’s first dance. She reunited with them at the Earthshot Prize Awards in Boston in 2022, (pictured)

 In September 2018, she called on the fashion industry to embrace sustainability while accepting the Eco Award at Fashion 4 Development’s eighth annual First Ladies Luncheon and a month later she addressed 85 heads of state at the Illegal Wildlife Trade Conference in London.

She also took part in the One Young World Summit in 2019 which saw young leaders and activists deliver speeches and panels on issues ranging from climate change, conflict and human rights.

She also teamed up with naturalist and broadcaster Sir David Attenborough in 2019 for the Our Planet series, providing the song In This Together.

A ground-breaking global initiative last year saw Nature recognised as an official artist on major streaming platforms.

Ellie collaborated with the sounds of Nature for a track generating conservation funding through royalties obtained from music created by the artist persona.

Her Brightest Blue remix, featuring Nature, used sounds from the rainforests of Colombia, including speckled chachalacas in Caqueta and the birdsong of Amazonian oropendolas.

Ellie said she is ‘extremely proud’ to be made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to biodiversity and the climate (pictured with David Attenborough)

The singer, 39, is a global environmental ambassador for the UN and was recognised in the New Year’s Honours list (pictured with Kamala Harris)

Taking to Instagram in January, Ellie shared several photos of herself engaged in activist work

She wrote: ‘It is such a great honour to receive an MBE for services to biodiversity and climate’

Ellie welcomed her second child, a baby girl named Iris Edaline, on March 6, with boyfriend Beau Minniear.

She also has a four-year-old son, Arthur, from her previous marriage to Caspar Jopling

Born Elena Jane Goulding on December 30 1986 in Hereford, she played clarinet and guitar as a child and developed her passion for music as a young adult, setting up a MySpace account to get in touch with music producers.

Aged just 23, she won the Critics’ Choice Brit Award and came top of the BBC‘s influential Sound Of 2010 poll.

Her debut album, Lights, which contained chart-topping hit Starry Eyed, was released the same year and soared straight to number one in the UK albums chart.

Her other UK number one albums are Halcyon (2012), Brightest Blue (2020) and Higher Than Heaven (2023).

The singer has also had four number one singles and collaborated with names such as rapper Tinie Tempah, Scottish DJ Calvin Harris and electronic group Major Lazer.

Among her number ones is a cover of Joni Mitchell’s River, which topped the charts in the first week of 2020 and featured a music video that highlighted environmentalism.

The video shows a group making a zero-waste Christmas tree constructed from salvaged beach litter and recycled objects that was later donated to a school in north London.

A decade earlier, Goulding had another festive hit with a cover of Sir Elton John’s Your Song, which peaked at number two and was featured in the 2010 John Lewis Christmas advert.

Having spent more than 15 years in the music industry, Goulding has amassed a range of awards and nominations, including a musician of the year award from Harper’s Bazaar, two Brits, and two Grammy nods.