Frank Skinner says he feels as though he wouldn't deserve his MBE if he failed to make Princess Anne laugh at the prestigious ceremony.
The comic whose real name is Christopher Collins was bestowed the award by the Princess Royal during an investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace on Thursday.
However, the 66-year-old admits that when meeting people for the first time he doesn't like it when they don't laugh in his presence, meaning he was extra anxious ahead of his day out at the King's official residence.
Speaking shortly after receiving his recognition, Frank explained: "If I didn't make the Princess Royal laugh today I wouldn’t feel like I deserved the medal."
He went on to tell the PA news agency: "I had her laughing throughout, it was pretty consistent, she was a pretty good audience because she couldn't go anywhere."
However, the Princess who is currently 16th in line for the throne found it highly amusing that the comedian was listed under two names when collecting his medal.
Frank said: "She said it was a bit confusing that I've got two names, I had to explain that when you're in the actors' union, only one person can have a name. Frank Skinner was someone from my dad’s dominoes team, so I chose that.
"I think she just found it funny how I'd chosen my name, dominoes doesn't sound glamorous enough to be discussing at Buckingham Palace."
But Her Royal Highness continued to giggle when Frank made an epic blunder as he almost collected the wrong medal.
"She reached for another medal and I forgot she'd given me mine, so I thought that was mine.
"I went back for that one and she said 'no, you only get one.'"
But Frank went on to joke that his co-writer David Baddiel will be keeping a "close eye" on the next honours list and taken the news "quite well".
Frank's special day comes just days after his co-star Gareth Richards, 41, had tragically died after a "terrible" car crash.
Gareth's wife Laura took to social media to confirm the devastating news, saying: "It is with great sadness that I have to share that Gareth passed away on Friday 7th April (Good Friday) at 6:30pm.
"He was in a terrible car accident on Monday 27th March at 11:30pm and sustained serious brain injuries.
"It was a miracle that he arrived at the hospital alive. Since then, the doctors and nurses have been incredible and have kept him in a stable and sedated condition.
"However, the latest scan revealed that the extent of the damage was so severe that they would have to remove all of the supportive medications and allow him to be at peace.
"The boys are bearing up well."
