Share and Follow
Gemma Collins brushed shoulders with the Royals on Wednesday in an unlikely first meeting when she attended a conservation charity ball at Lancaster House.
The TOWIE star, 42, has long time been passionate about animal welfare and showed her support for wildlife conservation charity Elephant Family at The Animal Ball.
King Charles and Queen Camilla were also in attendance at the event, which marked the 20th anniversary of the charity, as they share Gemma’s passion for conservation.
Their sweet meeting comes months after Gemma – also known by her alter-ego ‘The GC’ – said ‘is anyone bothered’ about the Royal Family other than the late Queen Elizabeth.
Gemma, who has previously also called King Charles ‘handsome’, was thrilled to meet the monarch for the first time at the event, and even invited him and Queen Camilla on a safari with her.
A very Royal encounter! Gemma Collins brushed shoulders with the Royals on Wednesday when she attended a conservation charity ball at Lancaster House
Gemma has long had a close relationship with the conservation charity and made a donation when she bought two wooden lifesize elephant sculptures from their 2021 Co-Existence exhibition in the Royal Parks.
Some of the 125 elephant sculptures are now permanently on display in the gardens of their Majesties’ private homes at Highgrove and Raymill, and Gemma posed with them at the ball.
In her meeting with Queen Camilla, Gemma gushed over the elephant sculptures as she said: ‘They are absolutely beautiful. What I love about them is the way the eyes move with you in the garden.’
Her Majesty then complimented the reality TV star on her eye-catching headwear, which was a headband featuring a shiny cherry and caterpillar on top.
‘I’m just so happy to be here and share this evening with you,’ Gemma told her.
Turning to the King, Gemma curtsied and shook his hand before giving him the title ‘King of the planet’ as she praised him for his conservation work.
Gemma said: ‘You really are King of the planet and we love you for what you do for the animals. Please keep getting that message out there, it means so much.’
Later taking her seat inside the event, Gemma was asked about her Royal meeting and she confessed that she had invited King Charles and Queen Camilla on a safari.
Meeting: Gemma met both King Charles and Queen Camilla at the event, and even went as far as to invite them both on a safari with her
Awkward: Despite gushing over them in their first meeting, Gemma has previously said ‘is anyone bothered’ about the Royal Family other than the late Queen Elizabeth
She explained: ‘I’m looking to make a documentary to make the youngsters aware, and I really hope they get involved.
‘Me and King Charles and Camilla on safari, it would be amazing. I did ask him about it, I said “would you be up for it?”‘
Gemma told how King Charles had simply chuckled in response to her question, which she was taking ‘as a yes’.
Read Related Also: Charlie Hunnam Said Working With 1 Director Was the ‘Most Demanding Experience I’ve Had in My Life’
Gemma added: ‘In this day, there should not be anyone who shows cruelty to another living being, and this is why Charles and Camilla are close in my heart and I’m just so fascinated with all the good work they do with conservation.’
The meeting comes months after Gemma said ‘is anyone bothered’ about the Royals other than the late Queen Elizabeth, who died in September, and told how her dream is to land a role in The Crown.
Speaking to the Daily Mail in February, Gemma said: ‘I mean, I loved the Queen. Christmas wasn’t the same without her. The Queen was The Queen. She was the Number One Hun. Is anyone bothered about the rest of them?’
In the interview, Gemma admitted she loves what King Charles is doing for the elephants, but admitted she would bypass him and give the crown straight to Prince William and Kate Middleton.
When asked which Royal she would like to be, she added: ‘Kate is a bit of class. But I’d probably be Sarah Ferguson. Oh, no — Princess Margaret, in Mustique, with the fag. She always looked as if she was having a b***dy good time.’
Sweet: In their meeting, Queen Camilla complimented the reality TV star on her eye-catching headwear, which was a headband featuring a shiny cherry and caterpillar on top
Gemma has also previously called King Charles ‘so handsome’ in gushing moments on her Covid reality TV show, titled Diva In Lockdown.
After brushing shoulders with King Charles, the TV personality took to Instagram to document her day, sharing a snap of herself looking glammed up before the event.
‘What a moment it was,’ Gemma said in a gushing caption, alongside a crown emoji, referring to her meeting with King Charles.
For the event, Gemma looked incredible in a head-to-toe Valentino ensemble, made up of a stunning floating red and white dress which billowed around her.
She gave herself a few extra inches in a pair of peep-toe rogue heels and sported a quirky cherry headband to complete her look.
Gemma wore her golden locks in glamorous waves and bolstered her striking features with lashings of mascara and a bold slick of red lipstick.
The star has long been passionate about animal welfare and bought two sculptures from Elephant Family back in 2021 to support their hard work.
Wow! After brushing shoulders with King Charles at the ball, Gemma took to Instagram to document her day, sharing a snap of herself looking glammed up before the event
The 125 lifesize sculptures, which were part of a 2021 exhibition, are made from Lantana, an invasive weed that impacts human and animal habitats in India.
Some of the Lanterna Elephant sculptures that formed part of the exhibition now live permanently in the gardens at Highgrove and Raymill.
Back in April 2021, Gemma proved her passion for animal advocacy as she posed with a skinned fox in a shocking image to back a PETA campaign to ban fur trade in the year.
She also famously posed nude to take part in the animal rights organisation’s I Would Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur campaign.
