Queen Camilla was photobombed by an adorable 23-month-old as she visited local shops in Belfast.
The royal, 76, who kicked off day two of her Northern Ireland trip today, couldn't help but smile as little Fitzwilliam Corrie-Salmon posed up a storm in front of the camera while his father, co-owner of Knotts Bakery, chatted with the King's wife.
The toddler sported a tiny tuxedo as he grinned for the photos, coming right up to the lens.
William Corrie watched his son on with Camilla, both looking equal parts amused and delighted.
'We have a natural for the cameras,' she announced, grinning as she watched him.
'There's something so wonderful about this kind of place.'
'She was a lovely lady,' said Mr Corrie. 'Genuinely interested in the products. It's very good to have her here.'
'She was asking questions about what we do,' he also added after the visit. 'We did joke that Fitz stole her thunder for a minute.'
Speaking to interviewers later, the young boy's mother Zoe Salmon also gushed that 'they make a good pair, Queen Camilla and Fitzwilliam' - and that the royal was 'warm, charming and very lovely'.
'I just hope she had a great day in Northern Ireland.'
Sporting the nation's trademark colour, the Queen opted for an emerald green Bruce Oldfield coat and crepe dress.
She styled her platinum blonde tresses in their signature look, and paid homage to her late mother-in-law by wearing Queen Elizabeth's turquoise and diamond three leaf clover brooch.
Queen Camilla has said the King is 'doing very well', despite missing out on a trip to Belfast as he undergoes cancer treatment.
The toddler sported a tiny tuxedo as he grinned for the photos, coming right up to the lens. Pictured loving the camera
And she was given armfuls of local produce for him to enjoy by well-wishers who were keen he didn't entirely miss out.
Her Majesty is in Northern Ireland for a two-day trip, that had been due to be undertaken by the both of them.
After the King was compelled to stay at home, she decided to continue with elements of her own programme for the working trip.
Today, that began with a visit to Lisburn Road to see three family businesses: a butcher, a baker and a delicatessen.
Her Majesty came away with bags full of local produce, promising she would take them home for her husband - after enjoying a snack herself.
Asked several times about the King's wellbeing, she said 'he's doing very well'. Responding to quips about men 'not being the best patients', she joked: 'I try to keep him in order'.
'He's very disappointed he can't come,' she added.
At Coffey's Butcher, which has been operating on the Lisburn Road since 1929, she met some of the three generations of the family who run it, remarking: 'My gosh there are a lot of you!'
Inspecting the meat counter, she said: 'My goodness me what a great selection' and asked: 'All of these are locally sourced? What do you sell the most of?'
'It's wonderful, it's all very tempting. It's lovely to see you thriving.'
Exclaiming over a large bunch of flowers she was presented with, the Queen accepted a bag full of Northern Irish specialities including vegetable rolls, beef sausages and Belfast pickle.
'I shall take these back to my husband, he will really make the most of them,' she said.
At the next shop Arcadia, a delicatessen that has been part of the Lisburn Road since 1933, she was also given a selection of their charcuterie, cheese, and local meats including Irish black butter.
Laura Graham-Brown, owner, said the Queen had been particularly interested in the social aspect of the shop, which is seen as a link to the local community.
'We had a discussion about the impact of local independent retail in the context of loneliness and social interaction,' she said. 'We know our customers and their families and lives. She was very interested in that.'
In the third and final shop Knotts Bakery, the Queen was told about its traditional Ulster baking methods with no machinery involved in the family business which employs 120 people.
She was given a fruit loaf and iced madeira, which she did not promise to entirely take home for the King.
'She said she'd eat some of them on the way home,' said co-owner William, 38.
Outside, she was given an envelope of cards made for the King by the children of Fane Street Primary School, with 11-year-old Amaya handing them over to a smiling Queen.
A small crowd of a few dozen people had gathered to see the visiting member of the Royal family, despite the trip not being announced in advance.
The Queen spoke and shook hands with all of them, crossing the road to do so before departing for her next engagement.
Among them was Anne-Marie Wallace and her 12-year-old son Oscar Dalzell, who has a collection of 15 letters from members of the Royal family he brought in a folder to show her.
One recent letter, hand signed 'with best wishes Camilla R', thanks him for his latest letter and the 'beautiful picture of a crown'.
The Queen told him it was 'lovely to put a face to the name of a correspondent', saying he writes 'lovely letters'.
She also met Kelly Andrews, chief executive of Belfast and Lisburn Women's Aid, who had hosted an engagement about domestic violence and human trafficking for a royal visit in 2020.
'I remember that visit well,' said the Queen. 'How is it all going?'
Several members of the public told her they hoped the King was doing well, as he undergoes treatment for cancer.
Later in the day, Camilla took to Middlesbrough Castle to attend an event hosted by The Queen's Reading Room.
Designed to mark World Poetry Day, the event, titled Northern Ireland: Poets and Their Place, spotlighted Irish literature.
After the event, Camilla met Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Chris Heaton-Harris with a firm handshake, who later introduced her to the First Minister of Northern Ireland, Michelle O'Neill and Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland, Emma Little-Pengelly.
The jam-packed day then saw Camilla travel to a parade at Thiepval Barrack in Lisburn - an event signifying soldiers who have finished their junior leadership selection course.
The mother-of-two inspected the soldiers as they lined up in a row alongside Lieutenant Colonel Dan Brown.
Camilla arrived in Northern Ireland on Wednesday evening, with a bugler from the Hillsborough Ford Guard playing to mark her arrival at Hillsborough Castle in Co Down, the royal residence in the region.
The Queen was last in Northern Ireland in May 2023 when she and the King undertook engagements on their first visit to the region following the coronation.
She is travelling alone this week after Charles stepped back from his public duties while receiving treatment for cancer.
Meanwhile, yesterday the Queen joked that her grandson Louis was 'quite a handful' as she met crowds of well-wishers on a visit to the Isle of Man.
Camilla made the comment as she greeted people outside Douglas Borough Council on Wednesday after presenting the letters patent, officially conferring city status on Douglas.
Meeting 38-year-old Rachael Hughes and her 15-week-old twin boys Louie and Oliver, the Queen said: 'I have a Louis grandson... quite a handful'.
Ms Hughes said the Queen had come over to 'admire' the boys in their matching blue outfits, adding: '[She] asked their names and said it gets easier when they are two. It was so lovely to see her. She is doing a great job and she looks fabulous.'
Camilla has three grandsons, twin boys Gus, 13, and Louis, 15, by her daughter Laura Lopes, and 13-year-old Frederick, by son Tom Parker Bowles.
She also has a step-grandson Prince Louis, the lively youngest son of the Prince and Princess of Wales. The Queen, dressed in navy adorned with a sapphire and diamond brooch, made a flying visit to the isle on behalf of her husband the King, saying he was 'so sorry' he could not be there himself to celebrate the 'extremely special occasion'.
She thanked residents for their 'warm welcome' before reading out a speech prepared by the King which acknowledged the late Queen Elizabeth II and thanked his wife for reading his words.
It read: 'The granting of your city status is particularly special to me, as your letters patent are the only ones in existence that hold both my signature and that of my late mother.
'Therefore, ladies and gentlemen, as you mark your well-deserved status as one of the newest cities in the British Isles, and the only one of the Crown Dependencies, I would like to offer on behalf of my wife and myself, my heartfelt congratulations and my very best wishes for the future.'
Crowds gathered to meet the Queen after she unveiled a City Hall plaque, waving flags, handing her bouquets of flowers and shaking hands.
After leaving the borough council, the Queen took an eight-minute drive to Government House in Onchan, the official residence of the Lieutenant Governor and his family, where she met community groups including the swimming club the Manx Bluetits and the RNLI, which was formed on the island.
She was handed gift bags from the RNLI and The Fynoderee Distillery, which produced commemorative spirits to mark the lifeboat charity's 200th anniversary this year.
The Queen then greeted schoolchildren who had gathered to see her, asking them if they were excited for the upcoming Easter holidays, what their plans were and if they were going to take part in Easter egg hunts.
Camilla also spent around 45 minutes with Diana Parkes CBE, an Isle of Man resident who set up the Joanna Simpson Foundation in memory of her daughter who was murdered by her estranged husband, before leaving Government House.
Douglas was one of eight towns to be granted city status in May 2022 as part of the celebrations for the late Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee, alongside Bangor, Colchester, Doncaster, Dunfermline, Milton Keynes, Stanley and Wrexham
'Therefore, ladies and gentlemen, as you mark your well-deserved status as one of the newest cities in the British Isles, and the only one of the Crown Dependencies, I would like to offer on behalf of my wife and myself, my heartfelt congratulations and my very best wishes for the future.'
Crowds gathered to meet the Queen after she unveiled a City Hall plaque, waving flags, handing her bouquets of flowers and shaking hands.
After leaving the borough council, the Queen took an eight-minute drive to Government House in Onchan, the official residence of the Lieutenant Governor and his family, where she met community groups including the swimming club the Manx Bluetits and the RNLI, which was formed on the island.
She was handed gift bags from the RNLI and The Fynoderee Distillery, which produced commemorative spirits to mark the lifeboat charity's 200th anniversary this year.
The Queen then greeted schoolchildren who had gathered to see her, asking them if they were excited for the upcoming Easter holidays, what their plans were and if they were going to take part in Easter egg hunts.
Camilla also spent around 45 minutes with Diana Parkes CBE, an Isle of Man resident who set up the Joanna Simpson Foundation in memory of her daughter who was murdered by her estranged husband, before leaving Government House.
Douglas was one of eight towns to be granted city status in May 2022 as part of the celebrations for the late Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee, alongside Bangor, Colchester, Doncaster, Dunfermline, Milton Keynes, Stanley and Wrexham.
Source: DAILYMAIL.CO.UK
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