Queen Camilla leaves commuters speechless as she's pictured boarding train to London

The Queen left commuters speechless this morning when she boarded the 9.28am service from Chippenham in Wiltshire to Paddington in London. Camilla, 78, travelled on the busy train as part of the 'Poppies to Paddington' initiativeto mark Armistice Day, where she laid a wreath on Platform 1.

Poppies to Paddington began during the November 2020 Covid lockdown as a way of marking the annual commemorations of the nation's war dead. Setting off at dawn, more than 250 wreaths travel aboard 10 Great Western Railway services across its network, carried by veterans, railway staff, passengers, and schoolchildren, including pupils from a primary school in Chippenham who have crocheted 60 poppies for a special wreath.

The journey culminates in a moving Armistice Day service at Paddington Station, where the wreaths form the centrepiece of a tribute to those who have served and sacrificed, both past and present.

At Chippenham, which is the closest station to the Queen's private Wiltshire home, Ray Mill, she met members of the local community and executives from GWR with their wreaths on Platform 2.

She was also given a wreath made from crocheted poppies by children from Monckton Primary School to take to London with her. The youngsters told her that they had spent six weeks making it, many having never crocheted before.

Wearing a dark green dress and a black cape, Camilla was complimented on wearing 'GWR's colours'. "Of course," she laughed.

"Did you knit this?" she asked. "Crocheted? Well that's very impressive. I was never very good at that. Or knitting for that matter. Are we taking this to London for you?"

Camilla told the pupils that her own poppy pinned to her dress was knitted from wool that had come from the King's sheep at Sandringham.

Spotting her train pulling into the platform, the Queen remarked: 'Oh good, it's on time' and boarded with her protection team.

The train was named 'Odette Hallowes GC MBE' after the Second World War hero, who was a member of the UK's Special Operations Executive in France and became the first woman to be awarded the George Cross for her bravery.

Codenamed 'Lise', Ms Hallowes was eventually captured by the Germans and imprisoned in Ravensbrück Concentration Camp in horrific conditions. She survived and eventually died in England at the age of 82 after a truly extraordinary life.

En route, the train stopped at Swindon Station, with local dignitaries bringing on board several more wreaths to be taken to London.

After pulling into Paddington Station at 10:44am, the Queen walked down to Platform 1's permanent war memorial for a moving service.

The Call to Remembrance was read and the Last Post played, followed by the traditional two minutes' silence at 11am on the 11th day of the 11th month.

After the Reveille, the Military Wives Choir will perform the song 'Poppy Red', before Her Majesty laid a wreath in front of the memorial. Her message read: "In everlasting remembrance. Camilla R."

Before she departed, the royal viewed a special liveried train on Platform 1 featuring the names of all 2,545 men who worked for GWR and died during The Great War, as well as meeting some surviving family members. The train is named after two of them, Allan Leonard Lewis VC and Harold Day DSC.

This included GWR administrator Jane Brook, whose great-uncle, Harry Charles Western, also worked at Exeter as an engine cleaner but was tragically killed in the First World War at the age of just 21. His picture and details are featured on the special commemorative train, which was viewed by the Queen.