She's already a Dame in Britain but now Judi Dench is receiving another royal honour - this time from Japan.
The "James Bond" actress was one of five recipients to be given the prestigious Praemium Imperiale award in Tokyo.
It's Japan's equivalent of the Nobel Prize of Arts.
Dench won the prize for film and theatre while fellow Brit Anish Kapoor was honoured for sculpture.
They were given the medals by Japanese prince Hitachi.
One of the international advisors for the award Klaus-Dieter Lehmann talked about their voting criteria.
SOUNDBITE: International Advisors for Praemium Imperiale, Klaus-Dieter Lehmann, saying (English):
"It is creativity that can show us continuity and how to start over time and time again even beyond crisis."
Other laureates included American Bill Viola for painting, Japanese Seiji Ozawa for music and Mexican Ricardo Legorreta for architecture.
Afterwards Legorreta spoke on behalf of all the recipients.
SOUNDBITE: Ricardo Legorreta, Laureate For 2011 Praemium Imperiale For Architecture, saying (English):
"No matter what country or cultural discipline we represent, we have devoted our lives with deep passion to our art, and this award shows that our efforts -- despite all the difficulties these attitude brings in this superficial and materialized environment in which we live -- have been worthwhile."
All the recipients received a cash prize of 15 million yen, approximately 182,000 dollars each.
Cindy Martin, Reuters
