Politician Danny Alexander has received his knighthood from Prince Charles.

The former Chief Secretary to the Treasury, who lost his seat to the SNP in the 2015 general election, received the honour at Buckingham Palace.

He was knighted for his public and political services.

Meanwhile, Facebook's most powerful female executive in the UK used the opportunity of receiving a CBE to plan a future social media collaboration with the Prince of Wales.

As Charles awarded Nicola Mendelsohn her medal at Buckingham Palace, the pair discussed launching a Facebook campaign on global warming and the environment.

The co-chair of the Creative Industries Council and vice-president of Facebook for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, said: "He said he was very happy to give me the honour as we have worked together before.

"He was asking all about Facebook and about getting together to do more work.

"He is very passionate about these issues."

Ms Mendelsohn, 40, who was accompanied by her husband and four children to be honoured for services to the creative industries, is a well-known spokeswoman for working mothers and businesswomen.

She said: "It was so amazing when I turned round after receiving my medal and saw my family's faces.

"I am very blessed to do the job I do.

"I have one daughter and three sons and I want to make sure my daughter and all the other young women in the world have all the same opportunities my sons will have.

"My parents always told me dream big and believe in yourself."

Asked about Facebook's plans for next year, she said: "The big thing for us is connecting the whole world and people not as lucky as you or I to the internet so they can use the knowledge it brings to get out of poverty."

She added she was going to put her CBE experience on the social media site and said: "I might get one or two likes."

Also receiving a CBE, this time for services to the music industry, was Max Hole, former chairman and chief executive officer of Universal Music Group International.

Although Mr Hole has been in the music industry for 45 years, working with hundreds of artists from the Beatles to Taylor Swift, this was the first time he had visited Buckingham Palace or met Charles.

He said: "I have worked in the music industry since I was 20 and my life has been amazing working with lots of brilliant artists, but ending up here is the cherry on the cake."

The 64-year-old revealed he and Charles spoke about a shared love of vinyl records.

The man responsible for bringing the Tour De France to Yorkshire said his knighthood for services to tourism was a triumph not just for him but for the county.

Sir Gary Verity, chief executive of Welcome To Yorkshire, said: "This is Yorkshire's knighthood and it's for everyone who works in tourism, the arts sector and the thousands of people involved in Tour De France.

"It was unbelievable how the county got behind the event - I have never known anything like it. The event brought people immense pride and I hope this reminds them and does the same."

Asked what he considered the best things about Yorkshire, he said: "I could tell you 10,000 things.

"Firstly, our topography is absolutely stunning, with our moors, vales and amazing countryside.

"Also our innovation over the years - from Captain Cook to Helen Sharman, the first Brit in space.

"Then sport - we have produced so many champions, there's just something in our blood.

"Our food is amazing. We have more Michelin-star restaurants and breweries than anywhere else in the country.

"But mostly it's the people of Yorkshire. What you see is what you get. You get authenticity and integrity with people from Yorkshire.

"Put all that together and you get something very special that I don't think exists in any other place."

Sir Gary revealed that he spoke to Tour De France director Christian Prudhomme on the phone on Wednesday about bringing the event back to Yorkshire, adding: "It's not a question of if, it's a question of when.

"The actual when is down to him but I'd love it as soon as possible.

"I said 'Let's start it in Yorkshire every year'."