In her first speech since Queen Elizabeth II's death, Camilla spoke of Her late Majesty's "enduring love" for the Commonwealth. Photo / Getty Images
In her first speech since Queen Elizabeth II's death, Camilla spoke of Her late Majesty's "enduring love" for the Commonwealth. Photo / Getty Images
The Queen Consort paid tribute on Thursday to her “dear mother-in-law” in her first speech since Queen Elizabeth II’s death.
She spoke of the late Queen’s “enduring love” for the Commonwealth and said the messages of condolence that had poured in from around the globe had helped to “heal, reassure and offer hope” in the midst of grief.
The Queen Consort was speaking at a Buckingham Palace reception for winners of the Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition, of which she is vice patron.
She said: “I cannot begin without paying tribute to my dear mother-in-law, Her late Majesty, who is much in our thoughts today and who is so greatly missed by us all.
“She had been patron of the Royal Commonwealth Society since 1952 and throughout her remarkable reign, its vision to improve the lives and prospects of all Commonwealth citizens remained, as you know, very close to her heart.”
She added: “It was on this date, November 17, that Queen Elizabeth I came to the throne, in 1558. She once said of herself that, while she was aware of the merits of the monarchs who had preceded her, ‘you never had any that will love you better’.
“A description that might just as well apply to Queen Elizabeth II and her enduring love for the Commonwealth.”
The Queen Consort with Alexandra Burke during a reception for winners of the Queen's Commonwealth Essay Competition. Photo / Getty Images
Her Majesty drew a parallel between the Commonwealth and the written word in being able to bring people together.
She hailed the talent of young writers from across the Commonwealth and evoked Nelson Mandela as she paid tribute to the power of literacy and language.
“Over the past few months, my husband and I have drawn immense comfort from the messages of condolence that we have received, and continue to receive, from the four corners of the world,” she added.
“They have reminded us that the written word has a unique ability to connect, to heal, to reassure and to offer hope, even in the midst of grief.”
The theme of this year’s essay competition was Our Commonwealth. The Queen Consort said many entrants had explored inspirational leadership, reflecting on the example of the late Queen. Mandela’s huge influence and respect for the late Queen’s “family of nations” also proved a popular topic.
Camilla described Mandela as a man who “understood the power of language”, describing how he wrote speeches and letters from prison during apartheid “that would change his country, his continent and the globe forever”.
“Mandela was a great writer,” she added.
“He was also described as ‘a man of the Commonwealth’, famously saying on entering Marlborough House: ‘The Commonwealth makes the world safe for diversity.’ The Commonwealth, like writing, touches the whole world.
“All of us are bound together by a profound appreciation of the written word and of our Commonwealth. This wonderful, extraordinary, richly diverse association of independent and equal nations, and friends, is, truly, ‘ours’, belonging to each one of us, and the connections between us run deep.”
Her Majesty ended the speech with another quote from Mandela: “A winner is a dreamer who never gives up.”
Extracts from the winning entries were then read by four Royal Commonwealth Society ambassadors - Ben Okri, a Booker Prize-winning novelist and poet; Alexandra Burke, the singer; Ayesha Dharker, the actress; and Geri Horner, the former Spice Girl.
The Queen Consort with former Spice Girl, Geri Horner during a reception for winners of the Queen's Commonwealth Essay Competition, at Buckingham Palace on November 17. Photo / Getty Images
The two winners were Sawooly Li, 17, a student from Rangitoto College in Auckland, New Zealand, in the senior category, and Madeleine Wood, 14, from Melbourne, Australia, in the junior category.
Amaal Fawzi, 17, who was born in Egypt and now lives in east London, was senior runner-up. Maulika Pandey, 13, from India, came second in the junior category.
The Queen Consort is vice patron of the Royal Commonwealth Society, which organised the competition, the world’s oldest international literary prize for schools, founded in 1883.
Okri paid tribute to her work for the society and her wider efforts to promote literacy and love of literature.
“You have in fact become our great literary Queen Consort,” he said.
