THE DUKE of Sussex has congratulated the director of the gospel choir which performed at this wedding after she was made an MBE.

Karen Gibson, the founder and director of the Kingdom Choir, has been made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for her services to music at a Windsor Castle investiture ceremony.

The honour was presented by the Princess Royal.

The gospel choir performed Stand By Me at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding at Windsor Castle in May 2018.

The royal wedding performance was seen by 1.9 billion people around the world.

Speaking after the ceremony, the choirmaster said she was not in regular contact with the Duke, but it appears he still takes an interest in the choir.

“We did hear from the master of the wedding - a lovely thank you note and when I was awarded the MBE, Harry wrote me a lovely congratulatory letter,” she said.

“I was really surprised.”

Speaking about receiving the MBE, she said: “This is surreal because I’m just doing this for the love of it, for the impact of it and what it did for people’s lives, so to find yourself receiving an award for services to music is quite something.”

The Argus: Karen Gibson, the founder and director of the Kingdom Choir, has been made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for her services to music Karen Gibson, the founder and director of the Kingdom Choir, has been made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for her services to music

The Kingdom Choir sang a special arrangement of Stand By Me at the wedding, a song made famous by singer Ben E King, after the address by US bishop Michael Curry.

When the Prince Harry and Meghan left St George’s Chapel, the gospel classic Amen/This Little Light Of Mine was performed.

Karen said about the wedding: “I’m never going to forget that day - it started with the police escorting the choir as we travelled by coach.

“The weather was beautiful, the choir were giddy with excitement as we waited in the church for Meghan to come in – I remember the hubbub in the air. And I remember Meghan herself coming in looking absolutely angelic.”

She added the life of the choir has been transformed by that performance with concerts worldwide and a CD release.

“It changed my life, what it did was catapult these church folk into a completely new sphere. Where we were doing things in the church and the community, we were now on a world stage,” she said.

Since the wedding, the Kingdom Choir has performed concerts at the Royal Albert Hall, Hollywood Bowl, and the closing ceremony of the Invictus Games, which were founded by Prince Harry.

Described as Britain’s godmother of gospel, Karen previously revealed that it was Prince Charles that invited the Kingdom Choir to perform at the royal wedding.

Among the other recipients, former Great British Bake Off star Mary Berry was made a Dame Commander by the Prince of Wales for a lifetime of cooking, writing and baking.

The cookery writer and broadcaster has published more than 50 books during a career spanning more than five decades.

She is also recognised for her charity work and is patron of Child Bereavement UK.

Also recognised was Sir Philip May, the husband of former prime minister Theresa May, and Steven Knight, the film director and screenwriter who wrote the film Spencer about the life of Diana, Princess of Wales.