Life & Times: Lifeboat hero earns a royal seal of approval

• Thomas Robertson receives his MBE from Prince Charles at Buckingham Palace on Thursday

Thomas Robertson, 69, who has devoted 37 years to the South Queensferry RNLI station and been at the helm for the last 18, said the ceremony at Buckingham Palace was a "once in a lifetime" occasion.

He was awarded the honour for voluntary service to Queensferry Lifeboat and was joined on his royal visit by wife Elizabeth.

Mr Robertson was born in Perth and educated at Perth Academy. He moved to Queensferry in 1967 before joining the RNLI in 1973.

He attended a sea training school in North Wales before joining the Merchant Navy, serving for five years.

He also worked as a director of a printing company.

Mr Robertson's lifeboat crew is among the busiest in Scotland and he has twice been commended for bravery.

Speaking shortly after being named in the Queen's birthday honours list, the father-of-two and grandfather-of-three said: "It came as a complete surprise but I regard it as an acknowledgement of the work we do here.

"I am very pleased to be named in the list, but this is a reflection of everyone at Queensferry RNLI."

Meeting the heir to the throne on Thursday was Mr Robertson's second brush with royalty in as many years as he accompanied Princess Anne on a tour of his Queensferry Lifeboat Station in 2009.

"It was splendid inside the palace," he said. "While you are waiting, there is a long picture gallery with all sorts of wonderful art works.

"Then you get a briefing from the palace's chief of staff who explains what to do and how to do it.

"It was a great experience, but was a very large investiture so it was a long service.

"The whole thing lasted from 10am until 1pm but, of course, given that my surname starts with an 'R', I was towards the end, and there was quite a long wait to get up to the main ballroom."

Despite enjoying only a brief interlude with his Royal Highness, Mr Robertson said he was honoured to have been selected for the MBE.

"You get about 25 seconds with Prince Charles and he just asked about the RNLI service and how busy we were, given that we are one of the busiest crews in Scotland.

"All in all, it was a very proud moment and a great honour for me and Queensferry Lifeboat."

Hours after the ceremony, a car carrying Princes Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall was attacked by student protesters, but the Robertsons managed to avoid most of the disruption and said the protests failed to ruin their special day.

"The place was in chaos after the ceremony because of the student demonstrations and we had to walk back to the hotel because of it," said Mr Robertson.

"But it didn't spoil the occasion."

When not working with the RNLI, Mr Robertson enjoys sailing on the west coast of Scotland. "But it didn't spoil the occasion."

When not working with the RNLI, Mr Robertson enjoys sailing on the west coast of Scotland.