Queen Camilla joins Victoria Smurfit's very royal tea party

Queen Camilla made a surprise stop on the set of hit drama Rivals this week, proving she’s just as at home with puffed sleeves and glittering 80s chaos as she is at royal engagements.

The Queen was treated like an honorary O’Hara when actor Alex Hassell cheekily poured her a cup of tea, asking, “Shall I be mother?” 

Meanwhile, Victoria Smurfit sliced fruit and Guinness cake in full period drama style, giving Camilla a tour of the O’Hara kitchen. 

“Which is a nice proper kitchen,” she quipped with her trademark charm.

Smurfit also gushed about how much young viewers adore the show. 

“My 20‑year-old daughter says her generation are obsessed and wish they were born in the 80s to get up to all the outrageous things in the Cooper-verse,” she told the Queen.

Camilla laughed along, recalling, “It is very funny, I remember it all.”

With season two filming underway, the Queen's appearance was a touching nod to her late friend, Dame Jilly Cooper, the author behind the beloved saga. 

Victoria and Camilla shared a heartfelt moment remembering her. 

“She was supposed to be here today,” Smurfit told the Queen. “But we feel like she is here every day because we are saying her words, living in the Cooper-verse. 

So now, instead of only seeing us when she was here, she can watch us every day.”

Fans of the show are calling it the royal cameo of the year.