Royal fans were left overjoyed when they spotted Queen Camilla doing her Christmas shopping at the luxury department store Fortnum & Mason.
Shoppers were shocked when Camilla was seen browsing the tins of festive tea in the iconic department store.
The royal settled on cinnamon and orange black tea, onlookers said.
Surrounded by a number of aids, Her Majesty was looking through the £13.95 tins for some time, while other shoppers milled about, making their own festive purchases.
Queen Camilla was spotted by a man who was in the store buying the same tea for his wife, at around 2.30pm.
He looked across the table and was taken aback to see the Queen standing opposite him with the same tin.
Her visit yesterday carried on a long tradition of the royal family shopping at the store – which holds the royal warrant – at Christmas.
According to the website: ‘Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II continued the family tradition of doing Christmas shopping in store, which had to be arranged months in advance’.
Royal fans were left overjoyed when they spotted Queen Camilla doing her Christmas shopping at luxury department store Fortnum & Mason
Shoppers were shocked when Camilla was seen browsing the tins of festive tea
Queen Camilla was spotted by a man who was in the store buying the same tea for his wife
She too favoured giving tea as gifts, and the shop’s website adds: ‘The list of provisions provided for her and her mother to give as presents reveal a shared practical bent of mind, with breakfast trays, breakfast sets, garden furniture and hostess trolleys being particularly popular.’
The man who spotted her, from Romford Essex, said: ‘It was great to be that close to her, and I never imagined I’d be asking after the same tea as the Queen.
‘I just went to ask the attendant how much the tin of tea was and then I noticed she was standing right opposite me – I could hardly believe it.
‘It was lucky chance. I’d gone in to London for a rare trip for my birthday.
‘It was funny because I’d never have thought I’d be in touching distance of the Queen. There must have been just over a metre between us.
‘She had about four members of security with her but they didn’t warn me off when I approached the table – that was a really good feeling.’
It comes the day after she was spotted enjoying a night out at the theatre with her family, to watch Operation Mincemeat.
Queen Camilla waves and speaks with a young girl as she welcomes children and families at Clarence House on December 12
King Charles III and Queen Camilla wave as they arrive by carriage on the first day of the Royal Ascot horse race meeting at Ascot
The Queen, 77, didn’t commandeer the State Bentley for the private family gathering, however, instead opting for a Ford Transit minibus, reports said.
The popular upmarket store Fortnum and Mason is located on London’s Piccadilly next to The Ritz hotel.
It is one of seven brands to be given Camilla’s seal of approval.
Queen Camilla, who is known to enjoy a tipple and is president of Wine GB, the national association for the English and Welsh wine industry, has also chosen to bestow two wine businesses with her warrant.
One is Camel Valley in Cornwall, a family-owned business that last year provided wine for the lavish state banquet at Buckingham Palace for South Korea’s President and First Lady.
The other is Corney & Barrow in London, which was founded in 1780 and is one of the UK’s oldest wine merchants.
Other recipients of warrants from Camilla include the London chemist D.R. Harris and Co, the ‘floral alchemists’ Shane Connolly & Co and the stationery suppliers Smythson.
In Sandringham, King Charles is set to host his biggest ever family Christmas, with Prince William having already revealed he will be spending December 25 with 45 people.
The big day kicks off with the monarch dining on a personal breakfast, before the whole family gets together to head over to St Mary Magdalene Church for the 11am service.
Pictured are shoppers entering the Fortnum and Mason store in London earlier this week
Fortnum & Mason in Piccadilly, busy with shoppers enjoying their festive window displays
After that, the royal family’s Christmas Day looks a lot like other families’ December 25 – filled with food at every turn.
The royals will dine on delicacies such as ox tongue and stuffed boar’s head; but the classic Christmas dinner is also observed as the royals eat roast turkey with all the trimmings.
Later on there’s much fun to be had during the unboxing of a royal Fortnum and Mason Christmas hamper containing organic jams, chutneys and other tasty treats.
After lunch and a spot of more fun, it’s time for the family to watch the monarch’s Christmas message on television, followed by a supper of roasted hams and boar’s head.
Ending the day is a Christmas boogie as the palace’s staff will meet for an evening of disco and drinks for the rest of the night.