Queen shares touching memories about Dame Maggie Smith at Palace event

At a recent Buckingham Palace gathering Queen Camilla spoke with Toby Stephens sharing warm memories about his mother the late Dame Maggie Smith (who passed away this fall at age 89). The Queen expressed her fondness saying they had lots of fun together; their friendship lasted many years including Smiths appearance at last years Coronation

The event celebrated the Queens Commonwealth Essay Competition where notable faces joined to read winning works. Clive Myrie rushed from his BBC duties while Richard Ayoade and Tanya Reynolds shared their amazement at young writers skills: the competition drew entries from all over the world

• Evangeline Khoo (15) from Malaysia - senior winner
• Erynn Liew (13) from Malaysia - junior winner
• Cristabelle Yeo (16) from Singapore - senior runner-up
• Victor Kiyaga (13) from Uganda - junior runner-up

The Palace displayed interesting items including the late Queen Mothers copy of Mary Poppins (from way back in 34). In her speech Queen Camilla made a clever reference to the books author: “A writer is after all only half his book; the other half is the reader“

The Queens Reading Room charity also announced its first-ever book donation project in west-London. The initiative aims to connect communities through reading - research shows just 5-minutes of daily reading reduces stress by almost 20% Its expected to expand nation-wide soon