What a fantastic wedding it was, coos Camilla in Sheffield

Camilla was touring Emmaus Catholic and Church of England Primary School when she asked a group of Year 5 and 6 pupils whether they had watched the wedding on TV.

After the youngsters all said they had, she told them: “It was fantastic, wasn’t it?”

The Duchess was shown around the school, in the south of the city, and had been watching four children deliver a presentation about the 2012 Olympics when the royal wedding came up.

The youngsters told her about a trip to London after they won a prize to design a regional version of the Olympic mascots.

Ellie Allen, 11, said after the meeting: “She asked us all about the royal wedding and whether we watched it.

“We said ‘Yes’.

“She said ‘It was fantastic, wasn’t it?’”

Elle Shaw, also 11, said she and her friends had all been hoping Camilla would mention the wedding.

She said she watched the Duchess on TV last week and thought she looked different in real life.

Headteacher Huw Thomas said: “We encourage them to ask questions and to show their inquiring minds.

“I’m thrilled they asked questions of her.”

He added: “I feel the children have done us proud.”

0Wearing a cream jacket over a cream dress, Camilla looked relaxed as she chatted with children of all ages.

She was treated to a full rendition of We’re All Going On A Bear Hunt by the reception class children and then asked them all about how much they enjoy reading.

The Duchess asked them whether they enjoyed books like Angelina Ballerina and the Hairy Maclary series.

She also presented certificates at the school’s Word Club, which is part of a literacy project run at Emmaus by students from Sheffield University’s Linguistics Society.

Camilla watched as the youngsters played games in the club such as Synonym Snakes, Atoms of Antonyms and Pin The Affix On The Donkey.

More Sheffield University students provided entertainment in the hall when the whole school joined the Duchess for a hip-hop dance show.

The royal visitor thanked the dancers from the university’s Hip Hop Dance Society, saying: “I hope to see you on Britain’s Got Talent.”

The school is one of the first amalgamations in Britain between a Church of England and a Catholic school.

Later, Camilla told a hospital patient how she watched the wedding on TV later “to see what I’d missed”.

But she admitted she was worried how her granddaughter, three-year-old Eliza Lopes, would get on as a bridesmaid in the Abbey.

The duchess made the comments as she discussed the wedding with Margaret Brooks, 60, at the Centre for Biomedical Research, at Sheffield’s Northern General Hospital.

She said to Mrs Brooks: “It was fantastic.

“I had to go and watch it back on TV later to see what I’d missed.

“I had my granddaughter. It was a bit of a worry whether she was going to get up the aisle or not, but thank goodness she made it.”

Mrs Brooks is a volunteer patient at the state-of-the-art centre which pioneers new interventions for a range of medical problem - mostly notably bone and heart disease.

The centre ensures discoveries made in research are translated into clinical care.

Camilla is President of the National Osteoporosis Society and was shown around the £2 million facility before officially opening it.

The duchess finished off her day in Sheffield at the Foxhill and Parson Cross Advice Service, in the north of the city, where she again discussed the wedding, calling it a “great British occasion”.

Volunteers quizzed her about the Aston Martin car the Duke of Cambridge drove out of the gates of Buckingham Palace on Friday afternoon and which belongs to his father.

Asked if the Prince of Wales was giving it to William, she replied: “No. He’s got the car back now. He won’t let go of that.”

She discussed debt management and other problems with centre users, saying: “It’s fantastic that people can access all of these services under one roof.”

Earlier, Camilla visited the Emmaus Sheffield shop where she bought two teapots and shared Highgrove chocolates and biscuits with the volunteers.