Queen Camilla dropped the comment about her connection to the hospital she visited in a surprise speech during her last day out.
The Queen, 77, stepped out in Swindon on January 21 to tour and open the new Emergency Department at Great Western Hospital. Royal met with staff, patients, volunteers and others involved in the $41 million ED expansion and recounted her previous personal experience at the medical center.
According to Rebecca English from Daily MailQueen Camilla revealed that she gave birth to her daughter Laura there at an “off the cuff” address. She revealed this while unveiling the plaque officially opening the new department.
“I thought about it and I probably haven’t been in this hospital for 47 years, since I gave birth to my daughter, so a few years ago,” the Queen said in a video shared by English with X. “But I really wanted to congratulate everyone who did such a brilliant business with this place and everyone who works here.”
Queen Camilla at the opening of the new emergency department at the Great Western Hospital in Swindon on January 21, 2025.
Ben Stansall – WPA collection/Getty
King Charles and Queen Camilla made their first appearance this year as his cancer treatment continues
“I know from first-hand experience how much of a difference you make in this part of the country. So I congratulate you all. Thank you,” the Queen concluded.
Elsewhere in the address, the Queen cheered on her grandchildren and said they had received emergency care in Swindon.
“I’m so impressed with this A&E. I’ve had really good feedback as I’ve had friends come here and grandchildren who have been here on several occasions. I often get pictures saying ‘Guess where I am? Back to Swindon A&E ,’ so I know it well,” she joked Daily Mail reported.
Queen Camilla at the opening of the new emergency department at the Great Western Hospital in Swindon on January 21, 2025.
Ben Stansall – WPA collection/Getty
Before marrying King Charles in 2005, Queen Camilla had two children with her first husband, Andrew Parker Bowles. Camilla and Andrew married in 1973 and had a son Tom in 1974 and a daughter Laura in 1978.
Tom and Laura later married and had children of their own. Tom, a food writer, shares daughter Lola and son Freddy with his ex-wife Sarah Buys, while Laura and her husband Harry Lopes share daughter Eliza and twin sons Gus and Louis, and all of Queen Camilla’s grandchildren memorably were pages at her coronation.
Annabel Elliot, Andrew Parker Bowles and Queen Camilla at the “Cooking & The Crown” launch party in London on September 5, 2024.
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Camilla and Andrew, now a retired British army officer, divorced in 1995 after several years of living apart, and she would marry the future king 10 years later. (Charles and Camilla’s long-term romance overlapped with their first marriages — Camilla to Andrew and Charles to Princess Diana.)
Despite being exes for decades, Queen Camilla and her first husband appear to share a friendly relationship. Andrew was a guest at her coronation in May 2023 alongside King Charles, Royal Ascot in July and most recently at the London launch party for their son Tom’s latest cookbook in September.
Laura Lopes, Queen Camilla and Tom Parker Bowles at the “Cooking & The Crown” launch party in London on September 5, 2024.
Dave Bennett/Getty
All about the children and grandchildren of Queen Camilla
Queen Camilla, Andrew and Laura all came out to celebrate Tom’s announcement Cooking and the Crown: Royal Recipes from Queen Victoria to King Charles IIIwhich chronicled 200 years of royal recipes as well as today’s food of King Charles and Queen Camilla!
Speaking to PEOPLE at the book launch, food writer Tom praised his mother’s tireless dedication to royal duty and said he was “incredibly proud” of her.
Queen Camilla leaves the Great Western Hospital in Swindon on January 21, 2025.
Ben Stansall – WPA collection/Getty
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“She’s at the age when most people are thinking about retirement, but she never complains; she just gets on with it,” Tom told PEOPLE at the time.
After her stop at the hospital, Queen Camilla traveled to Prospect Hospice to help the charity celebrate its 45th anniversary and 30 years at its Wroughton center as president.
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Source: HIS Education