On 2 September 2025, Queen Camilla carried out her first public engagements following the summer break at Balmoral Castle, returning to royal duties with a meaningful visit across Cornwall. Her itinerary included visits to multiple charities and community projects of which she is Patron or closely associated.
A morning visit to Shelterbox
The day began in Truro, where Her Majesty visited the headquarters
of ShelterBox, a disaster relief charity she has long supported.
Camilla officially marked the charity’s 25th anniversary by
unveiling a commemorative plaque in the presence of staff,
volunteers, and the Lord-Lieutenant of Cornwall, Colonel Sir Edward
Bolitho.
ShelterBox, known for providing emergency shelter to families affected by conflict or natural disasters, benefited from Camilla’s decades-long commitment—she first engaged with its work during a visit to Pakistan in 2006, later serving as President in 2007 and becoming its Patron in May 2021.
Queen Camilla in the community
In the afternoon, the Queen traveled to Newquay to visit Wave House Church, one of the community initiatives supported by the Cornwall Community Foundation, for which she has served as Patron since 2005.
During this visit, she also met with members of a local knitting club—one of the many grassroots projects the foundation backs—demonstrating her support for local social enterprise and community cohesion.
A visit to the Air Ambulance Trust
Her Majesty continued her engagement in Newquay with a visit to the Cornwall Air Ambulance Trust, another patronage close to her heart. There, she formally opened the charity’s new Newman Wing operations unit and officially named a newly acquired rescue helicopter “The Duke of Cornwall”—a homage to the former title held by her husband, now King Charles, from 1952 until his accession in 2022.
This helicopter naming came on the back of community fundraising efforts supporting the air ambulance service.
A significant royal visit
This tour underscores Queen Camilla’s enduring dedication to regional charities and volunteering networks across Cornwall. From emergency shelter to grassroots social support and vital medical services, she touched multiple facets of communal welfare in a single day.
Her return to royal duties was widely covered as a significant resumption of official engagements post-summer holidays.
Meanwhile, media attention also highlighted a candid anecdote from the newly released book Power and the Palace, in which Camilla reportedly recounted an incident from her teenage years involving self-defense on a train—a separate but widely discussed topic surrounding the same timeframe,
