Queen Camilla appeared delighted to admit she has a new hobby she’s hoping to take up, when she met BBC Strictly Come Dancing pro Johannes Radebe during a royal visit in Cambridge.
After watching the star give a dazzling performance at the Meadows Community Centre in Arbury, Queen Camilla confessed: “I’ve always wanted to tap dance, and in my dotage perhaps it’s something I could take up.”
The comment was made after Johannes presented Camilla with a pair of special tap shoes.
During the royal visit to the city, the Queen and the Strictly star attended a community centre, which holds dance classes for beginners. The Queen was shown a dance studio where beginners can try out their footwork, although she resisted any temptation to join in.
The visit was supporting the work of the Royal Voluntary Service, which runs projects at the Meadows Community Centre in Arbury, Cambridge.
Camilla watched the dancer and Love Island participant, Tasha Ghouri, coach Royal Voluntary Service (RVS) staff and volunteers on the dance floor.
She toured the new facility, including the dance studio and café before watching a Find Your Feet beginners class.
Watching the session a few feet away, the Queen apologised, as reported in Hello! Magazine, saying: “Very nice, I’m sorry I’m not cha-cha-cha-ing.”
The South African dance star, later told the BBC: “I didn’t know she was a lover of tap as well. I do know that she loves Strictly Come Dancing.”
Her Majesty the Queen became the President of Royal Voluntary Service in December 2012. While meeting volunteers at the community centre, Camilla added: “[Dancing] is the best exercise for everybody and it’s a wonderful way of enjoying yourself.”
Camilla has expressed her love for ballet in the past – she stays fit and healthy by doing regular ballet classes with a dance group for the over 50s.
She was inspired to join the Silver Swans after a visit to the Royal Academy of Dance. The Queen is now an enthusiastic dancer, referring to herself as “a devoted, if slightly creaky, Silver Swan”.
With the King recuperating from a prostate procedure and Prince William helping his wife Princess Kate after her abdominal surgery, Queen Camilla is currently the most senior royal carrying out engagements and carried out a series of solo public events this week.
