Golden girl Susannah Townsend claims her Royal reception at Buckingham Palace was one of the best experiences of her life.

The Canterbury star helped GB’s women claim an historic hockey gold in Rio but is beginning rehab after undergoing knee surgery earlier this month.

The 27-year-old midfielder was on crutches as she joined her teammates for the GB Heroes Parade in Trafalgar Square on Tuesday afternoon before a reception for medallists hosted by the Queen and attended by Princes William and Harry and the Duchess of Cambridge.

Despite her gold medal it was her knee which proved a talking point and former Sutton Valence School pupil Townsend revealed: “It was one of the best days ever and great to spend it with the girls.”

The former Canterbury Ladies star, who had moved to a Belgian club before her injury, revealed: “It was cool to chat to the Queen. She was interested in my injury and asked me if I did it at the Olympics then she said to make sure I sit down and rest because there were enough chairs around."

She added: "Harry was really nice to all of us and spoke to me about my injury. We joked around as that’s my personality.

“It was an honour to meet them all. We all got on with them really well and they were all interested in the hockey and how life has been after Rio.”

Holcombe stars Shona McCallin and Nic White and former players at the Rochester club Maddie Hinch and Laura Unsworth were also in attendance at the reception.