Queen Camilla greets schoolchildren outside Bath Abbey as local charity celebrates 850th anniversary

  • Watch as schoolchildren who met the Queen speak to ITV News' Verity Wishart

Queen Camilla met with hundreds of schoolchildren from across the region outside Bath Abbey this afternoon (Thursday 1 Febuary) as she attended a service celebrating the 850th anniversary of a local charity.

Her Majesty travelled to Bath to mark the anniversary of the St John’s Foundation, established in 1174 to tackle poverty and poor living conditions in Bath.It is one of the oldest charities in the UK, helping those in need in Bath and the surrounding areas and to mark the occasion their royal patron unveiled a commemorative plaque.

The commemorative plaque will be placed in the courtyard of the Chapel Court almshouses. Credit: PA Images

In 2020, St John’s launched its Foundation Fund, which aims to ensure every child under 12 can grow up being healthy, happy, and educated.

Alongside this, the charity continues its work providing older people with housing and outreach services.

Anticipation was building as we spoke to some of the schoolchildren awaiting her arrival. One said they were "really excited, because I've never seen the queen before."

Another said they were "excited and happy, I will probably always remember it."

Two local schoolchildren got the chance to hand over flowers to The Queen. Credit: PA Images

Charity CEO, David Hobdey, said it was an incredible milestone and said: "I think we got it right with the service we had today and the patron seemed to enjoy it."

He said he hopes the charity can continue its work for years to come.

"If you come from a lower income background for example, the opportunities are not the same for those kind of children so we want to make sure they get an equal start, or as equal as it possibly can be in school and out of school."