Royal approval for Balding with birthday honours CBE
CLARE BALDING, the television presenter, is to be made a CBE as part of the Queen’s birthday honours list, The Sunday Telegraph understands.
The broadcaster, 51, will be given the honour following almost three decades working in radio and television.
Balding is expected to be one of only a handful of household names on the list, which coincides with the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee weekend and will focus on the achievements and service of people “from all walks of life”. ”.
Nine years ago, when Balding received her OBE from the Princess Royal at Windsor Castle, she spoke of her nervousness during the encounter.
“I talked absolute gibberish, absolute gibberish – I was just hopeless,” she recalled. “Mucked my curtsey up, nearly fell over as I turned and walked away, messed mess up properly, but luckily not too many people had seen that.”
Balding is the daugh daughter of horse trainer Ian Balding and has an English degree from Cambridge. C Her award-winning winn broadcasting career caree began in 1994, when she sh became a trainee at BBC BB Radio.
She has covered five Olympics for the corporation, as well as three winter Games, and has also presented Grand-stand. She won the Bafta Special Award for her coverage of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Balding, who is married to Alice Arnold, the former BBC Radio 4 newsreader, has also presented the Lord Mayor’s Show, Trooping the Colour and a Sports Personality of the Year for the BBC. She has also led Channel 4’s horse racing coverage.