Queen Camilla became emotional tonight as guests at a charity function were shown a video of her late brother.
She was present at a reception and awards ceremony for Elephant Family, founded by Mark Shand, who tragically passed away at the age of 62 after a fall resulting in a head injury in 2014.
The glamorous and celebrity-filled event took place at The Royal Botanical Gardens in Kew, West London, and saw the attendance of notable guests such as Princess Beatrice, Lady Marina Windsor, Brazilian footballer Ronaldo Nazario, actors Ed Westwick and Amy Jackson, and Sophie Ellis-Bexter.
During an unexpected speech, the King, who was there with his wife serving as co-president of the charity that now operates under Charles’ British Asian Trust, emphasized the importance of collaboration over conflict.
But it was the moment that Camilla, 77, wearing a cream tunic top with gold embroidery and cream palazzo trousers by Anna Valentine, watched a posthumous video of her brother in which he spoke about his ‘optimism’ for saving endangered elephants that brought her to tears.
She was joined by her sister, Annabel Elliot, for the event.
After presenting a conservation award on stage, Charles, appropriately wearing a tie with an elephant motif, made an off-the-cuff speech.
He told guests: ‘This evening is an opportunity as well to pay a special tribute, I think, to all the wonderful people who are doing all the work on the ground in India to rescue not just elephants now, but even more species as the trust and the [Elephant] Family develop an even greater ability to manage the human and animal conflict.
Charles and Queen Camilla are pictured attending the Elephant Family Evening of Art and Conservation at Kew Gardens on Tuesday evening
‘And it just seems to me that this is a great example of why collaboration is far better than conflict and also why, if we’re doing to rescue this poor planet from continuing degradation and restore some harmony to the proceedings, we must also understand that whatever we take and exploit from nature we need to give something back in return to enable nature to sustain us.’
Charles and Camilla arrived at the Temperate Gate of the Royal Botanic Gardens in West London where they were met by a stilt walker dressed as a peacock before moving straight into a private reception for 50 guests at the Marianne North Gallery.
They then walked down an avenue which was flanked by 30 egg sculptures which were part of the Big Egg Hunt, a scheme where 123 eggs were placed along a public trail across London to raise awareness of the wildlife charity.
Eggs were placed at landmarks including Buckingham Palace, Battersea Power Station and Canary Wharf.
One artist, who had created a union flag egg adorned with the words God Save the Queen, told Their Majesties that he had been inspired by the 1970s.
Sophie Tea, an Instagram influencer and artist who created one of the eggs, had invited an eight-year-old girl along to meet the royal guests.
Princess Beatrice (pictured) was among the more than 250 guests at the Elephant Family event on Tuesday evening
Queen Camilla looked elegant in a light cream tunic over matching trousers as she attended the event, organised by the charity her late brother, Mark Shand, founded
The royal couple posed in front of two large elephant sculptures as they attended the special event on Tuesday evening
King Charles (pictured, left) wore an appropriate tie for the soiree, boasting an elephant print. Meanwhile the Queen (pictured, right) was effortlessly chic in a cream tunic top with gold embroidery and cream palazzo trousers
Charles (pictured, left) and Camilla (pictured, right) were snapped chatting to each other during the event
In total, around 250 guests had been invited to Wonders of the Wild: an evening of art and conservation.
Richard Hawkes, chief executive of the charity, told them that Shand’s voyage across India on the back of an elephant called Tara had been a “crazy idea” but one which had inspired the start of his conservation charity.
The King and Queen then took to the stage together to present two awards.
The Queen gave the Mark Shand Award to Dr Bibhuti Prasad Lahkar from the Indian-based organisation Aaranyak which works closely with Elephant Family.
Charles presented Rebecca Campbell with the Tara Award, named after the elephant on which Shand travelled around India, the King stayed on stage to give an off the cuff address.
Richard Hawkes, the charity’s chief executive, said: ‘Wonders of the Wild is a celebration of art and nature, which also serves to raise awareness and funds to support our critical conservation work.
Brazilian footballer Ronaldo Nazario (pictured, right) posed for snaps with his wife, model Celina Locks (pictured, left)
French actor William Abadie (pictured) who is known for his role on Emily in Paris among others, sported a green paisley suit
Communications expert Eva Omaghomi (pictured) looked elegant as she posed for a photograph during Tuesday’s soiree
Actors Ed Westwick and Amy Jackson were among the 250-plus guests
King Charles (pictured, right) meets singer Sophie Ellis-Bextor (pictured, second from left) during The Elephant Family Evening of Art and Conservation
Sophie Ellis-Bextor is photographed while performing at the charity event held in Kew on Tuesday evening
‘Elephant Family partners with local organisations in Asia to reduce human wildlife conflict, increase biodiversity and invest in research and education programmes. Our mission is to create environments where people and wildlife can thrive together.
‘True to our founder, the guiding principle of Elephant Family has always been to raise awareness of wildlife conservation in the most joyful ways possible and tonight is testament to that.’
Following Their Majesties departure, a live auction featured some of the eggs on display.
A silent auction included three nights at a safari resort in Nepal courtesy of Taj Hotels, a stay in the penthouse of Nobu London and a diamond elephant necklace, created by Chopard.
Guests saw a performance by singer, Sophie Ellis-Bextor and a DJ set by Gok Wan.
