Queen Camilla paid tribute to Queen Elizabeth II at an essay competition award ceremony, saying that the late monarch “is so greatly missed by us all.”
The Queen was presenting the awards for The Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition at Buckingham Palace, which saw a record-breaking 26,300 entries received this year.
The Royal Commonwealth Society hosts the competition and sees one senior winner and one junior winner awarded from within the Commonwealth for an essay on a topic related to the Commonwealth.
In her speech, Queen Camilla started by saying: “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.”
Queen Camilla added: “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.”
The award ceremony was hosted on the 464th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth I’s accession in 1558, and Queen Camilla drew parallels between the monarchs who shared a regnal name.
“[Queen Elizabeth I] 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.”
This year’s essay theme was centred on Queen Elizabeth II and ‘Our Commonwealth’ and encouraged entrants to write about Queen Elizabeth II’s eight decades on the throne and service to the Commonwealth as “an inspiring example of the steadfast commitment and important contribution we can all make to our societies,” according to the Royal Commonwealth Society’s website.
Queen Camilla mentioned that Nelson Mandela was frequently mentioned in essays, recalled his personal friendship with Queen Elizabeth II, and called him a great writer and man of the Commonwealth.
“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,” Queen Camilla said.
“I think, therefore, it is now time to hear how these connections have been celebrated by our outstanding winners. To end with another quote from Nelson Mandela: ‘a winner is a dreamer who never gives up.’
Sawooly Li was the senior winner from New Zealand, while Madeleine Wood was the junior winner from Australia. Runner-ups were from the United Kingdom and India.
