Boy, 9, captures Princess of Wales’ heart and becomes youngest ever New Year’s Honour recipient

This is the heartwarming moment a young boy, who captured the heart of the Princess of Wales, became the youngest ever recipient of a New Year’s Honour.

Tony Hudgell, 9, has been awarded the British Empire Medal (BEM), for his efforts in preventing child abuse.

Tony, from Kent, has raised over £1.8million for the hospital that saved his life after he suffered abuse at the hands of his birth parents as a baby.

Along with his adoptive mother, he launched the Tony Hudgell Foundation in 2021 to help vulnerable children and also inspired Tony’s Law, which campaigned to increase prison sentences for child cruelty and neglect.