He was disappointed when heavy traffic forced him to miss a garden party at Buckingham Palace, but last week young fundraiser Tony Hudgell was treated to a private tea party with the Queen to make up for it.
Tony, nine, and 11-year-old Lyla Donovan, who also missed the official party due to ill health, were welcomed into the Summer House in the palace gardens, where they and their families joined Her Majesty for sandwiches, scones, and King's Guard-designed iced biscuits.
The Queen also presented Tony with his British Empire Medal following his nomination the New Years Honours for services to the prevention of child abuse after raising almost £2million for the Evelina Children's Hospital, which has the Princess of Wales as its patron. Tony, who is the youngest ever recipient of a New Year Honour, was himself treated at the hospital after being so horrifically abused as a baby by his birth parents that he had to have both legs amputated.
In May, when Tony's adoptive mum Paula shared his disappointment about missing the garden party on his X (formerly Twitter), she received a reply from The Royal Family account saying: "Sorry to hear this, Tony! We were looking forward to seeing you too. Fancy trying again another day? Leave it with us..."
Tony and Lyla, who has a rare brain tumour and has raised funds for seriously ill children, had earlier watched the Changing of the Guard from inside the palace forecourt and were later taken on a tour of the Royal Mews.
Lyla said: "Everyone made us feel so comfortable and made me feel superspecial so thank you for this .. we are so grateful and feel so lucky to have been invited." Paula said: "Tony chatted to The Queen as if they were old friends and she waslovely with him and an exceptionally very proud moment when the Queengave Tony his BEM. We would like to thank everyone who made this one of the most memorable days we will ever have."
Meanwhile, a new portrait of the King has been unveiled to mark Armed Forces Day, an annual celebration of personnel, service families, veterans, and cadets in the Armed Forces community. Taken by photographer Hugo Burnard last November in the Grand Corridor at Windsor Castle, it shows His Majesty, who is Head of the Armed Forces, wearing his Field Marshal No1 Full Ceremonial Frock Coat with medals, sword and decorations.
Also to mark the occasion, the Queen, who is Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal Lancers, the regiment in which her father Major Bruce Shand served, released a video message in which she recalled her recent visit to Normandy with the King for the D-Day 80th anniversary commemorations and thanked members of the Armed Forces, veterans and their families for their service.
"As the proud daughter of an Army officer, I know something of theimpact military life has on your loved ones – you too are heroes," she told them.
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