Queen Camilla just took a nostalgic trip down memory lane during a royal visit to the Great Western Hospital in Swindon, England—the same place where she welcomed her daughter Laura Lopes into the world in 1978. But it wasn’t just memories of her youngest child that Camilla shared during the Jan. 21 outing, as The Queen admitted that her grandkids are frequent fliers of sorts in the hospital’s emergency room.
“I know quite a lot about you. You’ve treated a lot of my family,” she said, per Hello!, while opening the hospital’s new A&E department (emergency room). According to the media outlet, Camilla said her grandkids in particular were “regular visitors.”
“My daughter will often call me saying ‘Guess where I am?’ And I get a picture of a thumb sticking up at an odd angle, or a leg,” she continued. “I know what a nice place it is and what great care you take of people.”
While Queen Camilla’s son Tom Parker Bowles was born in London, little sis Laura arrived at Great Western Hospital, with The Queen sharing both children with ex-husband Andrew Parker Bowles. The Queen’s grandkid crew, including Laura’s trio Eliza, 17, and 15-year-old twins Gus and Louis, have apparently made the A&E their second home. She also has another set of grandchildren, Lola, 17, and Freddy, 14, from Tom’s previous marriage to Sara Buys.
Queen Camilla officially opened the Great Western Hospital’s new emergency department on Jan. 21.
(Image credit: Getty Images)
The Queen included her three grandsons (standing to Camilla’s right) as Pages of Honour at her coronation.
(Image credit: Getty Images)
During her speech, Camilla couldn’t help but marvel at how time flies: “I was thinking about it, and I probably haven’t been inside this hospital for 47 years, since I had my daughter, so that was a few years ago.”
She also reflected again on her personal experience with the hospital’s emergency department. “I am so impressed by this A&E,” The Queen said, adding, “I have had very good feedback because I have had friends who come here and grandchildren who have been here on several occasions. I quite often get pictures saying ‘Guess where I am? Back in the A&E in Swindon’, so I know it quite well.”
She wrapped up by giving props to the staff for taking care of her loved ones. “I do know from first-hand experience the difference you are making to this part of the country. So, congratulations to you all.”
Fun fact: Camilla’s grandsons Gus, Louis and Freddy all served as pages during The King and Queen’s 2023 coronation, but luckily, no hospital visits were required.
TOPICS