Paralympic champion Hannah Cockroft has dedicated her latest honour to the disabled community, saying it comes at an “unsure time” for many. The world record-breaking wheelchair racer was among several Olympic and Paralympic athletes honoured by the Princess Royal at Buckingham Palace on Thursday. Cockroft, who won two more gold medals at the Paris 2024 Games to take her total to nine, was made a CBE for services to athletics. “It feels amazing to be recognised for something I love doing,” she said. “It’s a sign for the whole disabled community – it’s unsure times right now, but it shows we are being recognised and treated as equals in some aspects of life. “If I can be here, anyone can. It’s nice to get an opportunity to represent that.” She was joined by fellow British athletes including kite-surfer Ellie Aldridge, who became the first Olympic champion in the high-speed hydrofoil event at the 2024 Paris Games. “It was very special,” Aldridge said after being presented with her MBE, adding: “Kite-surfing is a niche sport. If this encourages anyone to have a go, then I’ve done my job. “I just want to make the sport even bigger.” Rowers Lauren Henry, Hannah Scott, Lola Anderson and Georgie Brayshaw were also made MBEs after their dramatic photo-finish win in the women’s quad sculls at Paris. Emily Craig, who announced her retirement shortly after winning a gold at the Games in France, revealed she is beginning a new career photographing coins for an auction house. “We chatted (with the Princess Royal) about my new job photographing coins – it’s a bit different to rowing. “I’ve always wanted to work in the commercial art world, in an auction house. “I had a brief sabbatical after the Tokyo Olympics where I did just that. “Looking for jobs after Paris, this position came up and they said, ‘Wow, she’s won the Olympics and she’s photographed coins before – give her the job’.” Craig added that her conversation with the Princess Royal during the presentation “went on a lot longer than I would have thought”. She also joked: “I can’t believe I’ve won the Olympics, got an MBE and met Mick Jagger in one year.” Sixty-one recipients were honoured during Thursday afternoon’s investiture ceremony, which took place in the Palace’s grand ballroom.