I won an MBE after becoming the queen of darts at Ally Pally – Prince William left me stunned with his comment
FALLON SHERROCK has thrown darts in front of millions on TV and had hordes of sozzled fancy-dress revellers bellow out her name.
Yet the most nerve-wracking experience of her life came just nine days ago – when she stood toe-to-toe with the Prince of Wales.
Not only did she get tongue-tied when she had an MBE pinned to her pink dress at Windsor Castle.
But she almost forgot to curtsy properly during the investiture, in which she was recognised for her services to the oche.
Sherrock – one of only FOUR tungsten throwers to receive a gong from the Royal Family – said: “It’s mental to think about it.
“Who would have thought that someone like me, who first played at Lakeside and then won a couple of games at Ally Pally, would one day be meeting the future King?
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“I’ve never been so nervous in my life. I was like: ‘Don’t fall over.’ I was in high heels – and I never normally wear them.
“We had a minute’s conversation and the Prince said he had watched me. I was like, has he seen me on TV? Does he know who I am? I was getting proper shy.
“He did say something about darts is a great sport to go to the pub and watch.
“You have to wait next to people in line and when it’s your turn, you go up.
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“But you can’t turn your back on them! That one of the things I didn’t want to do.
“So, you start to panic. What do I do? Do I walk straight? Do I look at him first?
“Obviously I curtseyed because I’m a girl. It’d have been a bit awkward if I was bowing to him!
“It finished by him wishing me good luck and shaking my hand. It was a whole minute of me not breathing properly and trying to have a conversation.”
Sherrock, 29, was given the special accolade for being the first woman to win matches at the PDC World Darts Championship.
Famously, she knocked out Ted Evetts and Mensur Suljovic in consecutive matches in December 2019.
The former hairdresser laughed: “I got an MBE just for winning two games – if I win a world title, I might get a Damehood!
“But if you look at the bigger picture and what I’ve done for the sport, I can definitely see it now.
“It was a shock and a real experience going there for the MBE. I’m really honoured to have got it.”
The Queen of the Palace’s CV could have another historical entry on Saturday night if she were to beat Michael van Gerwen on the opening night of the Grand Slam of Darts in Wolverhampton.
The pair share the same manager and are close behind-the-scenes but Sherrock reckons she can cause a major upset.
The mum-of-one said: “I’ve beaten him before – in an exhibition in Germany. It still counts.
“Every time I play Michael, it’s always a good game.
“I want to play the best players because you’re only going to get better that way.
“Because that’s when you’re put under pressure. Against the best players in the world, I can see where I am in my game.
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“I’m not scared about playing all these world champions. It doesn’t faze me anymore.
“I’m going in there feeling confident. If the trebles are going in and the finishing is going in, then it’ll be a really close game.”