Queen Camilla at a Palace reception this morning (Image: Getty)
Queen Camilla paid tribute to the late Dame Maggie Smith this morning, saying her death was “sad for the whole country” and described her as a “legend”.
In a sweet four-word tribute, Her Majesty said: “We really loved her.”
Camilla, 77, was speaking to the late actress’ son, Toby Stephens, at a Buckingham Palace reception for The Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition on Thursday morning when she said she was “so sorry” to learn of his mother’s death in September.
In a warm exchange, the Queen asked Mr Stephens how he was, adding: “I’m so sorry, we really loved her and had so much fun with her.” The actor replied: “Well, vice versa.”
Camilla continued to pay tribute to Dame Maggie, who died on September 27 aged 89, adding: “It’s just sad for the whole country, she was a legend. Thank you for coming.”
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The actress was known for her roles in Harry Potter, Downton Abbey and the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and at the time of her death the King and Queen released a written tribute where they described her as a national treasure.
Mr Stephens joined Clive Myrie, Tanya Reynolds and Richard Ayoade who read excerpts of stories from the winners and runners-up of the essay prize, the longest-running competition of its kind in the world.
The Queen told young authors they “make me proud to be a member of the Commonwealth” and “fill me with hope for its future”.
In a speech, Camilla Queen told guests “it is a huge pleasure to welcome you to Buckingham Palace today” and celebrated the “record-breaking year” of 35,000 entries from 54 Commonwealth countries.
The event was compered by Gyles Brandreth, a long-term supporter of the Queen’s literacy campaigning, with guests including Booker Prize winner Ben Okri, author Francesca Simon, former Spice Girl Geri Horner, and bestselling historical novelist Philippa Gregory who told the Queen she was “so glad you are feeling better” after her chest infection.
Camilla met the young winners and runners-up of the prize: 15-year-old Evangeline Khoo, Senior Winner, from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; 13-year-old Erynn Liew, Junior Winner, from Puchong, Malaysia; 16-year-old Cristabelle Yeo, Senior Runner-up, from Singapore; and 13-year-old Victor Austin Kiyaga, Junior Runner-up from Mukono, Uganda.
Hearing that Christabelle was from Singapore, she said she had “whizzed through” the country on her way to and fro the recent Royal visit to Australia and Samoa, adding that it was a “very nice place to stop”.
The event finished with a performance from the Ngāti Rānana London Māori Club choir.
Guests were invited to see books, manuscripts and tiny dolls house books from the Royal Collection, including the Queen Mother’s copy of P L Travers’ Mary Poppins, published in 1934.
With a nod to the famous children’s book, the Queen concluded her speech by saying: “You are utterly supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!”