11-Year-Old Carmela Chillery-Watson Becomes Youngest Ever MBE Recipient

Carmela Chillery-Watson was diagnosed with LMNA congenital muscular dystrophy when she was four, a condition that progressively weakens muscles. Undeterred, she turned her experience into a series of fundraising and awareness initiatives for Muscular Dystrophy UK, starting with a month-long Wonder Woman challenge at age six that involved walking one kilometre and using a wheelchair for the remaining nine kilometres each day.

Over the following years she completed around 25 campaigns, raising more than £400,000 and highlighting issues of disability and accessibility. Guinness World Records recorded her as the youngest person ever to receive an MBE, at 11 years and 78 days, beating the prior record set by Paralympian Ellie Simmonds. The honour was conferred during the 2025 King’s Birthday Honours and later presented by Prince William at Windsor Castle. Muscular Dystrophy UK has appointed her as its first Young Ambassador, and she plans to visit schools to promote inclusion and accessibility.