Queen Camilla chats to Geri Horner at Buckingham Palace reception for winners of the Commonwealth Essay Competition

Pop royalty was present to meet with Queen Camilla during a reception for her Commonwealth Essay Competition, at Buckingham Palace today.

Former Spice Girl Geri Horner, 52, beamed as she made an appearance at the event, hosted by the King’s wife, 77. 

The pair had joined forces to highlight some of the Commonwealth’s most talented young writers. 

Camilla announced the winners of this year’s The Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition at the event.

And former Spice Girl Geri, looking stylish in a thick white wintry coat, as she attended as an ambassador for the Royal Commonwealth Society.

The Queen told young authors they ‘make me proud to be a member of the Commonwealth’ and ‘fill me with hope for its future’.

The Senior Winner was named as 15-year-old Evangeline Khoo, from Kuala Lumpur, while Erynn Liew, 13, from Puchong, Malaysia, was announced as Junior Winner.

Camilla, who looked to enjoy a warm chat and hug with Geri at the engagement, congratulated everyone who took part in the competition in a speech. 

‘Yet again, we have had a record-breaking year, with 35,000 entries from 54 Commonwealth countries, including 11 from Samoa and over 200 from Australia: two places that my husband and I were lucky enough to visit last month,’ she said.

In her heartwarming address, Camilla recounted the story of Pamela Lyndon Travers – the author of the beloved Mary Poppins character – to inspire the young attendees.

‘While I was in Sydney, I couldn’t help but think of a young woman named Pamela who, exactly 100 years ago, left that beautiful city to travel to London,’ she said. 

‘She did so when she was only a little older than Evangeline Khoo and, like each one of you here, she loved to write.

‘For a decade, she wrote poems, stories and reviews of plays, until from her pen sprang one of the best-loved characters in literature and certainly everybody’s favourite nanny… None other than Mary Poppins, who was and is practically perfect in every way.

‘I have a copy of the book from 1934, the year it was published, that belonged to my husband’s grandmother, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, which, in a moment, you can all have a look at.’

The Queen also offered her compliments to the finalists’ talents.

‘Your readers are taken on amazing journeys with you across the Commonwealth, from Gambia to Grenada, from Bangladesh to Botswana, from Malta to Malaysia,’ she praised.

‘You make us part of your story; you invite us to share your concerns and your passions; and you eloquently express the power of “Our Common Wealth”.’

Referencing Mary Poppins once again towards the end of her speech, Camilla dubbed the contestants as ‘utterly supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!’

Photos saw Camilla grinning as she posed with finalists as well as celebrity guests, including Geri Horner, Richard Ayoade and actor Toby Stephens – who is the late Maggie Smith’s son. 

The Queen also spoke to him about his mother, dubbing her a ‘legend’ in a sweet exchange. 

She was effortlessly elegant in an emerald green long sleeve dress and sophisticated black boots, keeping her blonde tresses carefully styled.

Last night, Camilla was awarded a very special educational honour – by her sister-in-law, Princess Anne.

Her Majesty was given an Honorary Doctorate of Literature by the University of London, whose Chancellor is the Princess Royal.

The two women arrived at the Senate House building in Bloomsbury, central London, together by car having travelled from St James’s Palace for a rare joint engagement.

In a sweet moment between the sisters-in-law, Queen Camilla instinctively invited Princess Anne to enter into the room, where they were due to greet fellow recipients of honorary doctorates and their families, before her.

Smiling Anne, no doubt with an eye on precedence, demurred and invited the Queen to enter first.

The two women then took one end each of the small line-up before Queen Camilla was invited to sit down and sign a visitor’s book.

Today is the University of London’s Foundation Day, marking the University of London’s establishment by Royal Charter in 1836.

Honorary degrees have been conferred as part of the annual ceremony since 1903, with recipients including King George V and Queen Mary (then The Prince and Princess of Wales), Sir Winston Churchill, T S Eliot and Dame Judi Dench.

Her Majesty was awarded her shred in recognition of almost two decades championing literacy and literature as part of her royal duties.

As well as being patron of a number of charities in the field, Camilla also set up her own online book club, The Queen’s Reading Room.

Inviting the princess to present the Queen with her doctorate, Sir Mark Lowcock highlighted her ties with the University of London which, he said, ‘date back to her formative years’ when she attended its institute in Paris, then known as the British Institute in Paris, where she studied French and French literature.

‘It was there at the institute that Her Majesty experienced first hand the rigour, the intellectual exploration and cultural exchange that have always been at the heart of the University of London’s ethos,’ he said.

He praised her for the way she has ‘embraced her role and a committed public servant with grace, compassion and tireless energy’ since her marriage to the King, pointing out that she is patron or president of more than 100 charities.

‘Her commitment to the promotion of literacy and literature stands out as testament to her personal passion and belief in the transformative power of books,’ he continued.

‘It is only fitting that this Honorary Doctorate of Literature recognises Her Majesty’s exceptional efforts to advance literacy and education not simply as a public duty but as a personal mission inspired by a lifelong love of reading.

‘Her Majesty’s work has touched countless lives and will continue to inspire future generations of readers and writers.‘