Last week, Queen Camilla hosted a very special private garden party where she awarded the British Empire Medal to its youngest ever recipient. On June 26, Camilla hosted a special Buckingham Palace event for, Tony Hudgell, a nine-year-old double amputee who founded a charity with his adoptive family after surviving abuse at the hands of his birth parents, and 12-year-old Lyla O’Donovan, who raised funds for children’s charities while being treated for a rare brain tumor.
During the event, Camilla presented Hudgell with a British Empire Medal for services to services to the prevention of child abuse. According to the BBC, he is the youngest ever recipient of the award in the British Honours system. According to the Daily Mail, Camilla personally made the request to give Hudgell the award. The palace shared details from the private event to their social media account, including footage of a band playing the Taylor Swift song “Shake It Off.”
Instagram content
This content can also be viewed on the site it originates from.
“Really nice to get you here today,” the queen said in the video. “We thought we’d give you a special garden party.”
Last week’s party was organized after Hudgell and O’Donovan were unable to attend the King’s Garden Party in May where charity representatives were celebrated as a part of the royals’ annual series of garden parties. In May, Hudgell and his mother were on the way to the palace when highway traffic prevented them from making it in time. After Hudgell’s mother tweeted about their dilemma, the palace reached out and organized another event. They were joined by O’Donovan, who was unable to attend the original party because she was hospitalized.
In the social media video, O’Donovan explained what took place during her special afternoon at the palace. “We sat around the table and just chatted for a bit,” she said. “We had some little cookies, some sandwiches, and tea.”