Camilla dazzles as she plays first duty in royal role vacated by Andrew

• The Queen Consort visited Lille Barracks in Aldershot to present medals to soldiers.
• She met troops and their families before posing for a group photo with the battalion.
• Camilla is Colonel of the Grenadier Guards, a role she inherited from the late Prince Philip.

Queen Camilla looked stunning in red as she carried out her first royal duty since disgraced Prince Andrew was stripped of the throne.

In her role as Colonel of the Grenadier Guards, the Queen Consort visited Lille Barracks in Aldershot to present medals to members of the 1st Battalion the Grenadier Guards, who are known for wearing bearskin hats on ceremonial duties.

Camilla wore a bright red gown and carried her vintage Chanel handbag as she met troops and their families before posing for a group photo with the battalion.

At Lille Barracks in Aldershot, Hampshire, the senior royal presented medals to ten soldiers who had been hand-picked for their exceptional service while deployed in Iraq last year, as well as two loyal soldiers who were honoured for length of service.

Major General James Bowder, Lieutenant Colonel Gerald Johnson, Major James Gatehouse, and Warrant Officer Dean Bailey greeted her upon arrival, before she was briefed in private in the officers’ mess by Lt Col Johnson on the battalion’s recent deployments and plans for the coming year.

She then spoke to about 30 officers at a small reception where the commanding officer, Lt Col Johnson, presented a champagne toast to commemorate her first visit.

She stated: “Thank you very much; it’s been an honour to be here. I hope to see a lot more of you in the future.”

Camilla then posed for a photo on the steps of the officers’ mess, where she joked with Second Lieutenant Archie Deninson-Smith, 24, who assisted in the recreation of a famous photograph taken with the late Duke of Edinburgh when he was colonel.

Later, in the sergeants’ mess, she presented Sergeant Scott Howcroft with a Long Service and Good Conduct Medal and a medal bar indicating an additional 10 years service to Colour Sergeant Colin Fiddy’s existing Long Service and Good Conduct Medal.

As their proud families and loved ones looked on, she then presented operational service medals to ten officers and soldiers to honour their efforts in Iraq.

They explained how the medal is given to all troops in the battalion, but bosses hand-picked the ten who would be given one by Camilla to recognise their outstanding service while deployed in the country.

This year, the battalion will be heavily involved in the King’s coronation as well as continuing with overseas deployments.

Camilla is Colonel of the Rifles as well as Colonel of the Grenadier Guards, a position she inherited from the late Prince Philip.

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