Queen Camilla welcomes boy who missed garden party

A nine-year-old double amputee who missed the king’s garden party due to a traffic jam has attended a private meeting with Queen Camilla.

Tony Hudgell, of West Malling, Kent, was heading to Buckingham Palace in May when he and his family got stuck in traffic on the M20.

He was then invited to have tea with the Queen at her London residence.

At the party, Tony was also awarded the British Empire Medal (BEM) for his services to the prevention of child abuse.

The boy’s adoptive mother, Paula Hudgell, previously said the family had originally been invited to a garden party on a different date, but had to move the date forward so she could have surgery for his colon cancer.

In a video posted on X, formerly Twitter, the Queen said: “It’s really nice to have you here today.

“We thought we’d throw you a special garden party.”

Tony said he was “very happy” to finally be able to attend a party.

“I was supposed to go to a garden party, but we got stuck in traffic,” he said.

“My mum tweeted and the Queen’s team said, ‘So sad you didn’t make the garden party today’. But then we found out I had a private one with someone else called Lyla.

Lyla O’Donovan, 11, from North Yorkshire, who has a brain tumour, was also invited to meet Camilla after missing the garden party in May due to health concerns.

She said: “We couldn’t come to the garden party last month because I was in hospital.

“We sat around the table and talked for a bit. We ate biscuits, sandwiches and tea. »

Garden parties are held each summer for guests who have made a positive impact in their community.