Queen Camilla hosted Cate Blanchett, Andrew Garfield, and other celebrities at a glitzy Buckingham Palace reception on Tuesday, February 18.
The queen, 77, hosted the reception in celebration of the U.K.’s National Theatre, which she has been patron of since 2022.
Other notable attendees included James Corden, Sex Education star Ncuti Gatwa, as well as Imelda Staunton, who played Queen Elizabeth II in The Crown, and Lesley Manville, who played Princess Margaret in the same series.
The evening took a dramatic turn when English actor Simon Russell Beale performed “Speak the Speech”, a monologue from Shapespeare’s Hamlet about the art of acting, according to a palace press release issued to Us Weekly.
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Some of the attendees, including Gatwa, 32, and actress Sharon D. Clarke, also took to the stage to perform a scene from The Importance of Being Earnest.
Clarke, 58, who played Lady Bracknell, stayed in character before and after the performance, telling Camilla that she “can’t nick any” of her jewelry, The Telegraph reported.
“I feel I could borrow a few, for a State Dinner. I think it would be just the job,” Camilla joked, per the outlet. “That’s a very big diamond.”
Camilla took over as patron of the National Theatre from Meghan Markle, who became patron of the arts organization in 2019 shortly after joining the royal family.
The former Suits actress, 43, paid a visit to the theatre when she was pregnant with her eldest child, Prince Archie, 5. The Duchess of Sussex watched a performance inspired by the play War Horse by children from Edith Neville Primary School in Camden, London in 2019.
However, Meghan and husband Prince Harry gave up their royal patronages one year after stepping back from royal duties in 2020.
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“As evidenced by their work over the past year, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex remain committed to their duty and service to the U.K. and around the world, and have offered their continued support to the organizations they have represented regardless of official role. We can all live a life of service. Service is universal,” a spokesperson for the couple said in February 2021.
