Actress Emilia Clarke has said that she felt “ill-equipped” to be a normal person again after she almost died from a brain haemorrhage.

The Game Of Thrones star joined JD Wetherspoon founder Sir Tim Martin and former chancellor Sir Sajid Javid as they collected their honours from the Prince of Wales at Windsor Castle on Wednesday, February 21.

Clarke was made an MBE alongside her mother Jenny as co-founders of SameYou, a brain injury recovery charity they established after the actress survived two brain haemorrhages.

The charity focuses on the rehabilitation of patients after they leave hospital.

Clarke had her first brain haemorrhage in 2011, a month after she had finished filming the first season of Game Of Thrones.

She said the hardest part of her illness was coming home and realising she was on her own.

“You spend a month in hospital, every day they tell you you’re going to die,” she said.

“And then you go home, and you have to live with that.

“I found that incredibly difficult, and my family found it incredibly difficult.

“You are so taken care of, and so supported, and then you are let out into the world."

She added that it seems "terrifying" and left her feeling "ill-equipped to be a normal person again".

“That was the hardest adjustment, and then I did a film set and I said: ‘Oh, this is mental anyway’, so…”

Clarke said William was "delightful" and made her and her mother feel “so comfortable” while he presented them with their honours.

Her mother said that William was “very well briefed” about their charity and why they were there.

The actress said that running a charity “is one of the hardest things I’ve had to do”.

“There are times when it feels like an uphill struggle,” she said.

“There are lots of dark moments like that when you run a charity, and I speak for most people who run a charity who feel the same way.

“So to get something like this… it gives you such a boost of energy and momentum.”

Lydia Otter, who provides autistic people with work experiences on her family’s farm in Wiltshire, was also made an MBE on Wednesday.

She said it was “quite extraordinary” to be honoured, adding that William was “so gracious, and so knowledgeable”.

Asked what wider society can do for people with autism, she said that it can accept that they are “more than how they present”.

“They need to be given opportunities,” Ms Otter said.

“It does take them time, much longer to learn practical skills than it would take you or me, but they still want to learn it. So it’s being understanding and also putting the opportunities in front of them and believing in them.”

Other people recognised at the investiture ceremony included Labour MP Dame Siobhain McDonagh, for political and public service, and director Betsy Gregory, who was made an OBE for services to dance.