Queen Camilla’s visit to Northern Ireland was overshadowed by an unexpected tuxedo-wearing one-year-old during her meeting with the owners of a Belfast bakery.
As part of an engagement to showcase local businesses in the area, Camilla had popped into Knotts Bakery on Lisburn Road in Belfast where she met with owner William Corrie and his wife, former Miss Northern Ireland and Blue Peter presenter, Zoe Salmon.
The star of the show, however, was their one-year-old son, Fitzwilliam Corrie-Salmon, who could not take his eyes off the cameras and television equipment that had followed the Queen into the bakery.
The Queen chuckled saying “we’ve got a natural for the cameras” as she watched him in amusement.
The Telegraph reports Camilla joked he would be “kept in order” by others in the family business, as he continued to pose for the cameras and stroll around his parents’ shop.
Owners William and Zoe gave a smiling Queen Camilla a tour of the bakery and she left with a gift of their fruit loaf and iced Madeira cake, adding she hoped to snack on it later.
Mr Corrie told the Telegraph the Queen was “great” with his son, known as little Fitz, adding: “We’ve got quite the story for him when he’s older.”
Spending the day celebrating Northern Ireland’s artisan producers, the 76-year-old popped into Coffey’s Butchers, Knotts Bakery & Arcadia Delicatessen, with lots of edible goodies for her and her husband, King Charles.
The Queen was also given lots of food to take home and pass on to King Charles, who, she says, is “doing very well” despite his cancer diagnosis. She added: “I try to keep him in order.”
During the visit to The Arcadia deli on Thursday, shop assistant Brenda Robb handed over a get-well card for King Charles and extended her best wishes.
The Queen last visited Northern Ireland in May 2023, shortly after King Charles’s Coronation. This is her 22nd trip to Northern Ireland, but her first without King Charles.Camilla arrived in Northern Ireland on Wednesday as part of a two-day visit.
On Wednesday 20, Camilla visited the Isle of Man for an afternoon of ceremonial events and engagements. Camilla arrived on Manx shores to officially declare the island’s capital a city.
Douglas was awarded the status in May 2022 as part of Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations.
The Queen met with a variety of local groups, including the nationwide charity RNLI, and unveiled a plaque in Douglas to celebrate the city’s formal status.
As she participated in her formal engagements, Camilla looked regal in a navy blue Anne Valentine coat which she paired with a colour-matching Chanel AS1286 crossbody bag and her favourite Russel and Bromley Dressage knee-high black suede boots.
