James Roberts' incredible 12 months since winning a gold medal at the Tokyo Paralympics has ended with another accolade as he was made an MBE by the Prince of Wales at Windsor Castle.

The investiture at the royal residence took place just days after the now-retired wheelchair rugby player shook hands with King Charles III during a Buckingham Palace reception celebrating the achievements of Olympic and Paralympic medallists.

James, who was born in Welshpool, received his MBE following an impressive international sporting career which included scoring 24 tries in an historic victory over the USA to become the first ever Great British and European wheelchair rugby team to win a Paralympic gold medal.

"I felt quite lucky to meet the Prince of Wales. It was good luck out of anything," James said.

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"He was a really lovely, nice chap. He asked what I was doing and he said I looked too young to be retired. I’m quite happy to be retired so we had a bit of a joke."

Watching James as he received his medal, who won three European Championship gold medals and represented Team GB at two Paralympic Games, were his grandmother Eileen, dad Stephen and his partner who had flown over to London from South Africa for the special occasion.

County Times: James Roberts at Windsor Castle with his MBE James Roberts at Windsor Castle with his MBE

"My nan is a massive fan of the Queen and the Royal Family," James said.

"She was over the moon to have gone and got into a royal palace so that was exciting for her.

"My dad was absolutely thrilled as well. It was really nice to share with them because they weren't able to come out to Tokyo. It’s been nice to share these moments with them."

Other sporting stars who received honours at Windsor Castle on November 8 for their illustrious careers were former England football captain Rio Ferdinand, Olympic champion swimmer Adam Peaty and multiple Paralympic champion Hannah Cockroft and Aled Davies.

James was a successful Welsh cross-country runner when he caught bacterial meningitis while studying at university, which resulted with legs being amputated.

A nurse who helped with his rehabilitation then introduced him to wheelchair rugby and he quickly became an influential player in the sport.

Shortly after winning gold at the Paralympic Games in Tokyo, James announced in December last year his retirement from wheelchair rugby.

“I definitely feel proud of my sporting career," he said after announcing his retirement.

"I don’t think you can top winning gold at the Paralympics. Not many athletes get to sign off where they want to.

“It’s all about those high-pressure moments and being absolutely terrified before every game. I’m quite happy not to go through those nail-biting moments again to be honest."