iPhone designer Jonathan Ive on 'thrilling' knighthood

Sir Jonathan Ive, Senior Vice President, Industrial Design, Apple Inc with his Knight Commander medal at Buckingham Palace today. Credit: Rebecca Naden/PA Wire

Apple design guru Sir Jonathan Ive has spoken of the "thrilling" moment when he was knighted by the Princess Royal at Buckingham Palace.

The 45-year-old, who is senior vice president of industrial design at Apple, flew to Britain from the US with his wife and eight-year-old twin sons to receive the honour.

"It has been wonderful. It was really thrilling and particularly humbling," he said after being made a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) for services to design and enterprise.

Sir Jonathan, who was born in Chingford, Essex, is credited with the design of some of the best loved gadgets of the modern age, including the iPhone, the iPod, the iMac and the iPad.

He told ITV News that a big part of his design ethos is "trying to bring order and clarity and simplicity to what are essentially incredibly complex products."

Asked about the impact of his products on the modern world, Sir Jonathan said: "We don't really spend much time thinking about our impact.

"We are fully consumed with trying to make the very best products that we can."

At the memorial service for Steve Jobs in October last year, Sir Jony paid a brilliant and emotional tribute to his former boss: