Queen Camilla cheers writers as Sir Lindsay quips, 'Will you remember me?'

Queen Camilla put the spotlight on the next generation of literary talent as she celebrated young writers at the Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition awards at St James’s Palace pen in hand.

The royal host cheered on aspiring Hemingways, while celebrity readers including singer and songwriter Joan Armatrading, former Spice Girl Geri Horner, and children’s author Dame Jacqueline Wilson brought the teenagers’ essays vividly to life. 

Camilla praised the students’ creativity, saying they had “whisked us away from Namibia to New Zealand, Pakistan to Papua New Guinea, and St Lucia to India, all from the comfort of our seats” with their imaginative storytelling.

Among the standout winners, 14 year old Vivaan Agarwal from Jaipur claimed the junior crown, while another teenager Kaira Puri from New Delhi took the senior top prize. 

Janet Cooper, chairwoman of the Royal Commonwealth Society, described the 53,434 entries from 54 nations as “incredible,” while House of Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle gave the winners a parliamentary tour, joking, “Will you remember me when you’re famous?”

Geri Horner recounted how author William Boyd once guided her through rewriting her first novel after meeting at a Buckingham Palace event.