Queen Camilla's surprise 'escape' to Wimbledon

A surprise royal visit by the Queen at Wimbledon has put a smile on the faces of the select few who met her.

Camilla headed to the tennis championships in south-west London on Wednesday for the 10th day of the tournament where she said it was "so nice to be able to escape for a day".

The Queen was dressed in a cream linen dress featuring giraffe motifs by Anna Valentine, with a Jack Russell brooch from Van Cleef and Arpels.

She met a ball girl and ball boy at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club.

She also met with tennis coach Jamie Delgado and former junior Wimbledon champion and Olympic silver medalist Laura Robson.

Camilla told former player Laura Robson, who works in international player relations at Wimbledon, it was “so nice to be able to escape for a day”.

She praised head gardener Martyn Falconer, who has worked at Wimbledon for 25 years and cares for all the plants around the grounds.

“It all looks fantastic. It always looks absolutely perfect,” she told him.

She also met another Camila – the daughter of Mexican doubles player Santiago Gonzalez – after the youngster boldly introduced herself to the royal guest.

The Queen remarked "fancy having two Camillas here" and asked if she would like a picture together.

Camilla was introduced to the welcome line-up by Deborah Jevans, chairwoman of the All England Club, and then proceeded to the royal box on Centre Court.

Abba’s Bjorn Ulvaeus, actors Richard E Grant and Sir David Suchet, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, former Conservative Party leader Lord Hague, and the King’s nephew Peter Phillips, accompanied by girlfriend Harriet Sperling, were among the well-known faces at the championships on Wednesday.

Camilla, who was joined by her sister Annabel Elliot, was watching former Wimbledon singles champion Elena Rybakina, of Kazakhstani, face Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina in the quarter-final.

The Queen will miss Australia’s Alex De Minaur in his quarter-final clash against Novak Djokovic, after De Minaur was forced to withdraw with a hip injury.

She has been seen in her giraffe dress before.

She wore the outfit, which features large embroidered images of the animals on the skirt, during an official tour to Kenya last November.

This is the Talking Royals - our weekly podcast about the royal family, with ITV News Royal Editor Chris Ship and Producer Lizzie Robinson