Emily Milton Smith, 23, is one of two young Australians honoured by the Queen in her Young Leaders program. Picture: Justin Lloyd Source: News Corp Australia

“It still hasn’t actually hit me what is going on,” Emily told news.com.au having just arrived from Australia to pick up her award in the five-year program launched last year by Prince William and Harry.

“I found out in December but wasn’t allowed to say anything until February,” she said. “It’s been full on since. It’s great being able to connect with young award winners from across the Commonwealth.”

The double degree student and volunteer worker is one of two Australian winners in the scheme along with Kate Row, a Queensland university student who has worked to raise the understanding of disabilities and mental health among young people.

Kate and Emily pictured with other winners, Queen Elizabeth II, former British prime minister John Major (on left) and footballer David Beckham (on right) during the reception at Buckingham Palace on Monday evening. Source: AFP

Emily scooped her award for a host of volunteer work on body image and cyber security for young girls. She worked largely with the Girl Guides Association on a project called Free Being Me aimed at seven-to-14 year olds that she hopes to rollout in Australian schools one day.

“I would love to see that going into schools. That’s going to take a while. We have a goal by 2020 but now we’re trying to get it into Australia,” she said of the scheme that aims to “challenge the value” young girls ascribe to body image.

Emily’s other projects include volunteering for UNICEF and working on projects to prevent teen violence in relationships. Pictured, she once collected bras for women in third world countries as part of the Uplift campaign. Source: News Corp Australia

“The majority of stuff I seem to do is in the space of girls and young women … I’m really big on making sure young people have their voices heard. That’s where they can be the advocate and action behind that change,” she said.

“The conversations around safety and how women’s bodies are used as a shaming tool for them, especially through the media is a really big issue for them.”

The prize allows the winners to spend time at Cambridge University meeting key people as well as a visit to Downing Street. They will also be provided a mentor for their work, which Emily hopes will encourage more young women into participating in society with a new-found form of body confidence.

“It’s connecting dots around the need for body confidence to link it to participation in human rights. We know by the time a girl is 12 she will stop participating in sports … It’s a really big thing we’re trying to advocate on. It’s not something people think is an issue.”

The Queen’s Young Leaders awards are open for nominations now.