The Duchess of Cornwall made her debut as a future Queen Consort on Tuesday with all the royal boxes ticked - flag waving school children, tea and cakes, a tree planting, plaque unveiling and a posy.
The future Queen Consort, Camilla, 74, was visiting Roundhill Primary School in Southdown, Bath, on her first public engagement since the Queen’s historic announcement on her title at the weekend.
She was there on behalf of the St John’s Foundation, a local charity dating back to the 12th century, which supports disadvantaged schoolchildren in the area.
The duchess has been its patron since 2009.
As she arrived at the school and walked up the drive she was greeted by dozens of excited youngsters, waving Union flags and shouting her name. There was even the odd shout of “Queen Camilla!” amongst them.
Inside the warm and vibrant building, the walls covered with colourful art, she sat down with four youngsters who were seated around a table learning from teaching cards with their teacher to learn about opposites.
“We are playing a little game,” said the teacher.
“Good morning everybody. You are playing a game?” asked Camilla, as she settled herself down at the table without ceremony and took part in the fun.
One little boy told her his name was Freddie. “I have a grandson called Freddie. It’s a very nice name,” she said.
Another little girl, referring to her friend, told her: “That is called Maisie and his is called Thomas.”
“Well I can see who the bossy one is,” joked the duchess, to much laughter.
She also gamely held the children’s hands and joined them a sing-a-long.
And she couldn’t resist making an unscheduled stop where some children were playing with pretend tea and cakes.
“Are those cakes,” she asked one delighted little girl.
“Am I going to get served? What cake is that? Is it nice? Is it chocolate cake? Does everyone like chocolate cake? They look delicious. Are you going to have them for your lunch?”
Outside Camilla took part in a tree-planting ceremony with the school’s Eco Team, pretending to drop the heavy spade in mock shock as she placed mounds of earth on a silver birch which was being planted as part of the Queen’s Green Canopy, a Platinum Jubilee project to create a lasting legacy for the Queen.
Like her husband, Camilla shook the tree for good luck. “I always give it a tap,” she explained.
Literacy is one of the duchess’s great passion and she stopped to chat with a small reading group with children aged between 10 and 11 in the Owl reading room, before going to the library where another group of youngsters were creating their own school book.
