The Queen's Commonwealth Essay Competition 2024

Marking a decade since Her Majesty first began hosting the annual award ceremony at Buckingham Palace, The Queen has celebrated the winners of The Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition 2024, the world’s oldest writing competition for schools delivered by the Royal Commonwealth Society (RCS) since 1883.

For 2024, the competition theme was ‘Our Common Wealth’. A record-breaking 34,939 children from every Commonwealth region entered this year’s competition, with the winners and runners-up hailing from Malaysia, Singapore, and Uganda.

Addressing guests, Her Majesty said:

Thanks to your talents, your readers are taken on amazing journeys with you across the Commonwealth, from Gambia to Grenada, from Bangladesh to Botswana, from Malta to Malaysia. You make us part of your story; you invite us to share your concerns and your passions; and you eloquently express the power of “Our Common Wealth”.

Following this, extracts from the winning pieces were read by Clive Myrie, Tanya Reynolds, Toby Stephens, and Richard Ayoade, and Her Majesty presented certificates to the winners and runners-up.

Over the last decade, since Her Majesty has hosted the annual award ceremony, participation has increased from 9,282 entries in 2014 to nearly 35,000 in 2024, with entries hailing from all Commonwealth regions. Over 5,000 schools from across the Commonwealth have participated in the last ten years.

This year's winners include:

• Evangeline Khoo, Senior Winner, 15, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 
• Erynn Liew, Junior Winner, 13, Puchong, Malaysia 
• Cristabelle Yeo, Senior Runner-up, 16, Singapore C
• Victor Austin Kiyaga, Junior Runner-up, 13, Mukono, Uganda 

Read more about the winners and their essays here.