Kate Middleton's best friend's mother responded to Buckingham Palace's surprising gesture with meaningful words.
Queen Camilla made Tony Herzel and his mother's dream a reality last week. She invited two children's fundraising heroes and their families to Buckingham Palace for a private garden party.
Nine-year-old Tony has met the Princess of Wales several times and is affectionately called her “best friend”.
Princess Kate, who is battling cancer, has often praised her little friend for doing good things for others despite suffering life-changing injuries after suffering horrific child abuse as a child.
Tony's adoptive mother, Paula Herzel, said it was “an honour”. She described the Bukungam Palace gesture as “an experience we would have never dreamed of.”
She added: “Tony spoke to the Queen as if he were an old friend, she was lovely with him and it was a particularly proud moment for the Queen to present Tony with her BEM. We would like to thank everyone who made this a most memorable day. We will be.”
According to palace insiders, Kate Middleton also had plans to meet the young boy.
According to the insider, Princess Kate was impressed by the boy's courage and his commitment to serving others at such a young age.
Tony has been raising money for charities since he was five. Inspired by Captain Tom More’s fundraising efforts, he walked 10km for cash in June 2020. He has also raised a whopping £1.8 million for the Evelina London Children’s Hospital, where he received treatment.
He was the youngest ever recipient of the New Year's Honours for his services to the prevention of child abuse. He has also received the Pride of Britain Award and the UK Points of Light award.
Meanwhile, the father of brain tumour sufferer Leila O'Donovan also shared his 11-year-old's reaction after being honoured by Queen Camilla, saying: “Leila was originally upset about not being able to attend the garden party but she's glad she won't now because she's getting to meet the Queen. Of course, no one is more important to her than the King.”
“It was an incredible moment for us as a family,” added Leila’s father, especially as Leila’s health had deteriorated over the past few weeks. “She had a lot more seizures and was having up to eight seizures a week at school, so we always cherish everything we do.” “We were so happy to have this experience and Leila loved every minute of our journey.”