Queen Camilla attended a special dinner alongside Duchess Sophie this week as she issued a speech about the ongoing war in Ukraine.
The queen and Sophie attended the Biennial RIFLES Awards Dinner, which was held at the City of London Guildhall on Thursday.
The event took place in celebration of excellence across The Rifles regiment, which the queen serves as Colonel-in Chief.
Queen Camilla joins forces with Duchess Sophie
She took over the role from the late Prince Philip in July 2020. She is also Royal Colonel of the 4th Battalion The Ranger Regiment and first Patron of The Rifleman’s Association. It supports serving personnel, veterans and their families.
Meanwhile, Duchess Sophie has held the role of Royal Colonel of the 5th Battalion The Rifles since 2007.
Camilla was greeted with a rousing bugle fanfare as she arrived. She looked striking in a floor-length blood red velvet gown. She accessorised the look with a silver gemstone necklace and ruby earrings to compliment her dress.
Sophie also matched the queen in velvet, her dress midnight blue. Both royal ladies also paid tribute to the regiment with signature Silver Bugle Horn brooches, the cap badge of The Rifles.
Queen makes Ukraine plea
Ahead of a lavish dinner, Queen Camilla gave a speech. The 78-year-old took the opportunity to express her hope for ending the conflict in Ukraine.
“Your Royal Highnesses, Riflemen, ladies and gentleman,” she opened the address. “It is wonderful to be surrounded once more by a sea of green.”
“Only recently we marked the 80th anniversaries of both victory in Europe and victory over Japan,” she continued. “During these moments of commemoration, I was fortunate enough to speak privately with so many of our surviving veterans who voiced a clear and unanimous plea: the path to peace must be pursued with the same vigour and determination that our Forces prepare for combat.”
The path to peace must be pursued.
“It is only fitting, then, to rewind the clock 170 years, when The Rifles’ antecedents stood alongside our European allies in modern-day Ukraine,” she added powerfully. “By November 1855, our regiment had distinguished itself at the Alma, Inkerman and Sevastopol and were anticipating the end of a bloody Crimean campaign.”
She added: “It is only fitting, then, to rewind the clock 170 years, when The Rifles’ antecedents stood alongside our European allies in modern-day Ukraine.
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“By November 1855, our regiment had distinguished itself at the Alma, Inkerman and Sevastopol and were anticipating the end of a bloody Crimean campaign.”
Queen Camilla concluded her speech by saying we should hope “our resolve to stand up to tyranny in this same region can again find a resolution to another devastating and brutal war“.
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