Queen Camilla Says She Was Moved to "Tears" During One of 2024's Most Important Events

"It really did bring tears to the eyes."

Queen Camilla has blonde coiffed hair and has tears in her eyes
(Image credit: Chris Jackson/Getty Images)

Queen Camilla made an emotional admission while hosting a reception at Clarence House earlier this week. Camilla's event celebrated the incredible performance of the British Equestrian teams at the 2024 Paris Olympics and Paralympic Games.

As the royal patron of the British Equestrian Federation, Queen Camilla clearly has a passion for horseback riding. Although The Queen wasn't able to attend the Paris Olympics in person, it sounds as though she was on tenterhooks watching them at home.

"It made us all feel very proud to be British," she told athletes attending the special reception at Clarence House (via the Daily Mail). "I'm sorry I wasn't there but I was watching very keenly every bit of it on the television and it really did bring tears to the eyes." She continued, "Thank you to the whole team for what you do and let's keep British best."

In the caption of an Instagram post sharing photos from the reception, the Royal Family's official account explained, "The Queen, Patron of the British Equestrian Federation, hosted a reception to celebrate the incredible achievements of the British Equestrian teams at the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games." The post continued, "Her Majesty met some of the squad and their dedicated support staff—the 'team behind the team'—who all helped make Team GB's victories possible."

At the reception, Queen Camilla was gifted a "very sweet" picture drawn by equestrian Ros Canter's 5-year-old daughter, the Daily Mail reported. Canter revealed that her little girl had always dreamed of being a princess, to which Camilla responded, "That's very sweet. Tell her I will send her a letter."

Queen Camilla looks tearful and has blonde hair

Queen Camilla said the British team's performance at the 2024 Paris Olympics brought tears to her eyes.

(Image credit:  Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images)

Also this week, Queen Camilla visited the Great Western Hospital in Swindon, England—which is where she gave birth to daughter Laura Lopes in 1978. During the Jan. 21 outing, Camilla joked that her grandchildren were regular visitors to the hospital, telling staff they'd "treated a lot of my family," per Hello! magazine.

"My daughter will often call me saying, 'Guess where I am?'" Camilla explained. "And I get a picture of a thumb sticking up at an odd angle, or a leg...I know what a nice place it is and what great care you take of people."

Amy Mackelden
Contributing Editor

Amy Mackelden is a contributing editor at Marie Claire, where she covers celebrity and royal family news. She was the weekend editor at Harper’s BAZAAR for three years, where she covered breaking celebrity and entertainment news, royal stories, fashion, beauty, and politics. Prior to that, she spent a year as the joint weekend editor for Marie Claire, ELLE, and Harper's BAZAAR, and two years as an entertainment writer at Bustle. Her additional bylines include Cosmopolitan, People, The Independent, HelloGiggles, Biography, Shondaland, Best Products, New Statesman, Heat, and The Guardian. Her work has been syndicated by publications including Town & Country, Good Housekeeping, Esquire, Delish, Oprah Daily, Country Living, and Women's Health. Her celebrity interviews include Jennifer Aniston, Jessica Chastain, the cast of Selling Sunset, Emma Thompson, Jessica Alba, and Penn Badgley. In 2015, she delivered an academic paper at Kimposium, the world's first Kardashian conference.