Queen of the Bonkbuster novel Jilly Cooper said she feels “incredibly bowled over”, after being made Dame Jilly in this year’s list.
The writer, famed for tales of steamy goings-on among the English county set, counts Prime Minister Rishi Sunak among her fans.
The 86-year-old, honoured for services to literature and charity, said: “I cannot believe I am a DBE, which in my case also stands for Delighted, Bewildered and Ecstatic!”
The mother-of-two has sold over 11 million copies of her books, such as Rivals, Mount! and Appassionata.
As for other novelists, Alexander McCall Smith, 75, was knighted and Kate Mosse, 62, received a CBE.
