Fifteen months after being bestowed the honour of Member of the British Empire, Clement Talbot finally had his audience with the Queen yesterday at Buckingham Palace.

Mr Talbot was appointed MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours last year for services to the Bermuda community, having been the driving force behind the Ross “Blackie” Talbot Foundation, which raised almost $4 million for charitable causes, and the popular Ross “Blackie” Talbot Charity Classic golf tournament.

The initiative was named after Mr Talbot’s late father, with the golf event played for the final time in 2012 to mark Talbot’s retirement from charity work.

“I didn’t expect this at all,” Mr Talbot told The Royal Gazette last year when the news had first sunk in. “When I got the call from the Governor [George Fergusson], I was in between minds as to whether I should accept it, as there are far more worthy individuals than I.

“What I did over the last 20 years, raising almost $4 million for some 85 charities, was not for recognition. I think I will probably reflect on it quietly with my wife.”