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Amanda Redman received her MBE from the Prince of Wales and described herself as "a bit wobbly with the first curtsey, the second one better".
The New Tricks star said that though she knows Charles is a fan of the hit TV crime drama, he was more interested in talking about her charity work.
After the ceremony at Buckingham Palace she said he had asked about the Artists' Theatre School she set up, which has trained dozens of young actors.
She said: "He was surprised about how long it's been since it was set up, and said what great talent we have produced."
Amanda, who is best known for her role as Sandra Pullman in New Tricks, has described the school, in Ealing, west London, where she lives, and its young pupils as "a kind of surrogate family".
The series, which stars Amanda as the leader of a group of retired detectives investigating old cases, also features Dennis Waterman and Alun Armstrong and regularly pulls in around 10 million viewers.
Film director Baroness Beeban Kidron, who directed Bridget Jones: The Edge Of Reason, received an OBE for services to drama.
She said: "This has been lovely. This is a collection of people from so many different walks of life, that's what I liked. While we were waiting, I met people who have done such great work, in midwifery, education, farming. It is important to recognise what ordinary people do to make the world better."
She added: "The Prince was very well informed, he knew about Film Club, an educational charity that shows films to children in state schools, which I co-founded."
