The Queen's Commonwealth Essay Competition reception

Today The Duchess of Cornwall, Vice Patron of The Royal Commonwealth Society, held a reception for winners of The Queen's Commonwealth Essay Competition at Buckingham Palace.

The Commonwealth Essay Competition is the world’s oldest schools’ international writing competition, founded in 1883 to promote literacy, expression and creativity among young people throughout the Commonwealth.

The Duchess held the event on behalf of Her Majesty The Queen.

In 2018, almost 12,000 entries were received on the theme of ‘Towards a Common Future’ from almost every country in the Commonwealth. The Winners and Runners-up are aged between 13 and 17 years old and travelled from Singapore, Canada and Pakistan to be presented with their certificates by The Duchess of Cornwall today. 

The reception was attended by award winners, their families, panel judges including Giles Coren, Jaspreet Kaur and Roy Williams and notable literary figures from across the Commonwealth.

The Duchess of Cornwall launched the 2019 competition in Ghana earlier this month.

The Duchess said during a speech: 

On behalf of Her Majesty The Queen, and as the proud Vice-Patron of the Royal Commonwealth Society, I’m delighted to welcome you to Buckingham Palace today.  It’s a special place for a special celebration and it has an interesting history.

Congratulations to this year’s winners.  It’s lovely to have you here in London to celebrate your special success at Buckingham Palace, the home of Queen Charlotte and her granddaughter, Queen Victoria.  Well done to all of you.  Never mind the past.  Meeting you, I rather think the future is in good hands.