Queen Camilla made an emotional admission while hosting a reception at Clarence House earlier this week. Camilla's event celebrated the incredible performance of the British Equestrian teams at the 2024 Paris Olympics and Paralympic Games.
As the royal patron of the British Equestrian Federation, Queen Camilla clearly has a passion for horseback riding. Although The Queen wasn't able to attend the Paris Olympics in person, it sounds as though she was on tenterhooks watching them at home.
"It made us all feel very proud to be British," she told athletes attending the special reception at Clarence House (via the Daily Mail). "I'm sorry I wasn't there but I was watching very keenly every bit of it on the television and it really did bring tears to the eyes." She continued, "Thank you to the whole team for what you do and let's keep British best."
In the caption of an Instagram post sharing photos from the reception, the Royal Family's official account explained, "The Queen, Patron of the British Equestrian Federation, hosted a reception to celebrate the incredible achievements of the British Equestrian teams at the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games." The post continued, "Her Majesty met some of the squad and their dedicated support staff—the 'team behind the team'—who all helped make Team GB's victories possible."
At the reception, Queen Camilla was gifted a "very sweet" picture drawn by equestrian Ros Canter's 5-year-old daughter, the Daily Mail reported. Canter revealed that her little girl had always dreamed of being a princess, to which Camilla responded, "That's very sweet. Tell her I will send her a letter."
Also this week, Queen Camilla visited the Great Western Hospital in Swindon, England—which is where she gave birth to daughter Laura Lopes in 1978. During the Jan. 21 outing, Camilla joked that her grandchildren were regular visitors to the hospital, telling staff they'd "treated a lot of my family," per Hello! magazine.
"My daughter will often call me saying, 'Guess where I am?'" Camilla explained. "And I get a picture of a thumb sticking up at an odd angle, or a leg...I know what a nice place it is and what great care you take of people."
