Captain Sir Tom Moore turned down afternoon tea with The Queen as he had already booked a table a local restaurant.
The Queen had invited the 100-year-old to join her after knighting him in a unique open-air ceremony at Windsor Castle yesterday.
Sir Tom became a national hero during the Covid-19 pandemic when he raised £33million by walking 100 laps of his garden with the aid of a walking frame.
And in a fitting tribute, he officially became Sir Tom when he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth capping off an extraordinary year for the World War Two veteran.
Speaking to Sir Tom, the Queen said: “Thank you so much. An amazing amount of money you raised."
Sir Tom's family then gathered around for a chat with the monarch, who said: "A hundred is a great age."
ITV revealed that the Queen later invited Sir Tom for afternoon tea at the palace, but he had to decline as he had already booked a table at The Castle Hotel Windsor.
The hotel shared pictures of Captain Tom with his family and wrote: "Congratulations on your knighthood #CaptainSirTomMoore.
"We are incredibly honoured to have welcomed you and your family for Afternoon Tea on your very special day.
"Thank you for all that you have achieved, you are a true inspiration to us all."
In a later post, the hotel said: "While we highly recommend a tea at the Castle Hotel, we might have had to cancel to join the Queen!"
Family members joining Sir Tom included his daughter Hannah Ingram-Moore, son-in-law Colin Ingram, grandson Benjie and granddaughter Georgia.
Other investitures have been postponed because of the coronavirus and yesterday's was one of the first official duties the queen has carried out since the coronavirus lockdown.
