Sir Elton John said he is "humbled" after receiving the highest acknowledgement in the New Year Honours.

The Pinner-born singer-songwriter has enjoyed an incredible and glittering career in pop music spanning six decades, in which he sold more than 300 million records around the world.

Sir Elton, 72, lifelong Watford FC fan and the Hornets' honorary life president, has also dedicated much of his life to charity, including his own Aids foundation, and earlier this year he was the subject of a Hollywood biopic.

In the New Year Honours it was announced the musician, who was knighted for services to music and charitable services in 1998, had been awarded the Companion of Honour.

He tweeted: "I'm humbled and honoured to be among such highly esteemed company in receiving the Companion of Honour.

"2019 has turned out to be a truly wonderful year for me and I feel extraordinarily blessed."

The Companion of Honour is a special award granted to those who have made a major contribution to the arts, science, medicine, or government lasting over a long period of time.

Earlier this year, it was revealed Sir Elton will appear on a set of new Royal Mail stamps.

He is only the second individual music artist to appear on a dedicated set of stamps, following on from David Bowie in 2017.

Eight of the stamps will feature images of some of his most popular album covers.