It’s one of the most heartwarming events on the holiday calendar, and Queen Camilla continued her tradition of welcoming children supported by Helen & Douglas House and Roald Dahl’s Marvellous Children’s Charity to Clarence House to help her decorate for Christmas.
The Queen was overheard telling her special guests, “This is an especially lovely occasion.”
During their day at Clarence House, the children were treated to a musical performance by The Band and Bugles of The Rifles and met with Father Christmas and his reindeer, Dancer and Blitzen, on the grounds outside. The Queen treated the children to lunch as well, with bangers arranged in a smiling face formation and broccoli crowns.
The Daily Mail spoke with the family of a young girl named Dottie, who’d been invited through Helen & Douglas House. Her father, Ken, said, “What a wonderful event and how amazing the Queen is for inviting us. They are memories we will treasure.”
Embed from Getty ImagesSpeaking to her guests, The Queen said: “I think this is the 18th year we have had this party and I can tell you from everybody at Clarence House it really does mean the beginning of Christmas.
“We look forward to it every year. Also, I’d like to thank the marvellous children’s charities for doing what they do and helping so many parents, helping their wonderful children making their lives easier.”
The Helen & Douglas House charity supports terminally ill children and their families who live in Oxfordshire and the surrounding counties. The Queen has been the patron of the charity since 2007.
The Roald Dahl’s Marvellous Children’s Charity supports more than 33,000 seriously ill children by providing specialist nurses to help support them through difficult medical conditions. The Queen has been its patron since 2017.
Queen Camilla has invited children to Clarence House almost every year, and even during the pandemic, arranged a virtual Christmas party by having children Zoom in and tell her where they’d like their ornaments placed on her Christmas tree.
On social media, the British Royal Family shared videos of the event with the caption, “Christmas is coming!”
