Northern Ireland's motorcycling world champion Jonathan Rea has received his MBE at Buckingham Palace.

The triple world superbike champion was presented with his honour by the Duke of Cambridge.

Rea,  30, revealed that the Duke had said that his love of motorcycles had  been put "on the backburner" because of his growing family.

"He's a bit of a motorcycle fan himself. We talked about his bikes," said the Northern Irishman.

 Along with his brother Prince Harry, the Duke has been a keen biker  from a young age and had previously been known to own bikes including a  1199cc Ducati.

In 2008 the Princes took part in an arduous motorcycle rally across Africa to raise money for a variety of charities.

Rea,  whose two sons are aged four and two, the same ages as Prince George  and Princess Charlotte, said his boys were already into riding "electric  trial bikes".

He said seeing them at the end of each race was something that made him very proud.

In  September, Rea became the first rider to clinch three successive World  Superbike titles and he said that he was "very honoured to be invited  here and receive an MBE".

"It's been more than a dream, more than I  ever expected. To come here today it kind of really sinks in what I  have achieved," added the Kawasaki rider.

The Ballyclare man was honoured in the Queen's birthday honours list last June for his services to motorcycle racing.

Sourse: bbc.com