Kylie Minogue receives royal award

LONDON, England (CNN) - Pop princess Kylie Minogue mingled with true royalty Thursday when she went to Buckingham Palace to receive an award from Prince Charles.

The 40-year-old singer, wearing a white dress with multi-colored sequined stars, smiled as the prince gave her an OBE, or Order of the British Empire, for her services to music.

Though little known in the United States, Minogue is an international superstar widely recognized around the world. She has sold more than 60 million records worldwide in a music career spanning 20 years.

She released her first single, "Locomotion," in 1987 and has since released nine studio albums and 43 singles. She holds the record for the most-played female artist on UK radio in the past 20 years, according to her Web site.

Her dance record "Spinning Around," released in 2000, debuted at No. 1 in both Britain and Australia and made Minogue one of only two artists - the other being Madonna - to have a No. 1 song in the 80s, 90s, and 00s, according to her Web site.