Queen Camilla offered her condolences to one of the late Dame Maggie Smith’s sons as they met at a celebration of writing.

The Queen hosted a reception at Buckingham Palace for the winners of The Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition 2024. 

Several actors were invited to read excerpts from the winning essays, including Dame Maggie’s son, Toby Stephens. Other stars involved included Richard Ayoade, Tanya Reynolds, and Clive Myrie. 

When Queen Camilla met Toby Stephens, she spoke with him about his mother’s legacy. 

Smith passed away on 27 September. Her Majesty shared, ”It’s just sad for the whole country, she was a legend.”

Toby Stephens thanked Her Majesty for her kind words. 

The 2024 theme of essay competition was “Our Common Wealth” and saw submissions from every Commonwealth nation. A record-breaking 34,939 children entered this year’s contest. The top essays are from Malaysia, Singapore, and Uganda. 

The competition dates back to 1883 and is the oldest essay competition in the world. 

Queen Camilla also referenced another English legend in her speech, the one and only Mary Poppins, saying ”“Now, if Mary Poppins were here, I wonder if she would be telling me to hurry up with a brisk ‘Spit Spot’ so that we can get on to the prize giving. I will therefore end by saying that there is just one word to describe you all.. You are utterly supercalifragilisticexpialidocious”