In an amusing turn of events, Queen Camilla experienced a moment of surprise when she had to be reacquainted with Ruth Jones, the beloved star from Gavin and Stacey. This encounter unfolded as the King and Queen made their way to Wales on November 14, a visit coinciding with King Charles’ 77th birthday celebrations. They were at the historic Cyfarthfa Castle, celebrating its 200th year, where they mingled with prominent Welsh cultural figures and locals.

During the event, Ruth found herself reintroducing herself to Queen Camilla, who didn’t immediately recognize her. The Queen, visibly surprised, exclaimed, “Haven’t you lost masses of weight!” to which a laughing Ruth responded, “Yes, I have, thank you! I’ve lost a bit of weight.”

Ruth’s remarkable transformation involved shedding four stone, thanks to “aversion therapy” with well-known hypnotist Paul McKenna, who helped her develop a distaste for chocolate.

Reflecting on her journey, Ruth shared, “I dislike using the term ‘struggled’ with my weight, but it’s been a lifelong battle. I can’t recall ever being slim. One of my weight loss attempts led me to a Paul McKenna workshop where hypnosis was employed. When asked about my goal, I said, ‘If I could just stop eating chocolate, I’d be fine’. Chocolate was my main weakness.”

“One of my attempts to lose weight was to go to a Paul McKenna workshop. Hypnosis. He said, ‘What’s your aim?’ And I said, ‘Look, if I could stop eating chocolate, I’d be fine’. Chocolate was my main thing.”

Speaking of the process, she explained: “You think of something you hate eating, then think of the chocolate and keep alternating. I remembered when they were on the menu in school dinners. Anyway, it worked. It completely worked. I didn’t eat chocolate for five years. I couldn’t stand the smell of it.”

She explained: “It’s taken me 22 months to lose 4.5 stone. Although I have done loads of diets in my time I have never done it the old-fashioned way: taking in less calories than I was using.”

The star went on: “The main thing is that I realised I was going to have to be patient. When diets promise you things like ‘lose a stone in a week’ it’s just not realistic. You have to make a decision that if you’ve got a few stones to lose (seven in my case!) then it’s going to take time.”