The Queen has hosted a reception at Buckingham Palace celebrating the 15th anniversary of Women of the World (WOW), an organisation of which she is patron.
Her Majesty welcomed an array of influential and powerful women to the event.
Among the guests were designer Victoria Beckham, lawyer Cherie Blair, and actresses Ruth Jones and Sarah Lancashire.
In her speech, the Queen expressed hope that a “gender-equal world” was on the horizon.
The Queen has hosted a reception at Buckingham Palace celebrating the 15th anniversary of Women of the World
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She spoke of her pride in being involved with a movement that promoted gender equality.
The reception took place in the palace’s White Drawing Room, where the Queen met hundreds of guests.
Her Majesty praised the “extraordinary and impressive women” she has met through WOW, who have “refused to take ‘no’ for an answer”.
The Queen said: “Without fail, wherever WOW gathers, I have met the most extraordinary and impressive women who have, quite simply, refused to take ‘no’ for an answer.”
Queen Camilla welcomed an array of influential and powerful women to the event
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She acknowledged that some women have public profiles while others cannot be named due to the dangerous nature of their work.
The Queen noted the significant challenges ahead in achieving gender equality.
She said: “At the current rate, globally, it will take an estimated 286 years to remove discriminatory laws, 140 years for women to hold half the positions of leadership in the workplace and 47 years to be represented equally in national parliaments.”
Despite these daunting figures, Her Majesty remained optimistic.
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She added: “By following in the footsteps of these amazing women and girls who will not take ‘no’ for an answer, we members of the WOW family fervently hope that this will be achieved in a much shorter time.”
The Queen was seen greeting Victoria Beckham warmly, having hosted her for dinner at Highgrove last month.
The former Spice Girl delivered an elegant curtsey and mentioned how much she enjoyed the Italian-themed evening.
Her Majesty also recognised Penny Lancaster, wife of Rod Stewart, referring to her as “our special constable” due to her volunteer work with the City of London Police.
The Queen expressed hope that a ‘gender-equal world’ was on the horizon
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Lancaster revealed she had been on duty the previous night doing paperwork.
Ruth Jones, co-writer and star of Gavin and Stacey, thanked the Queen for promoting literacy.
After the event, Jones said: “I am a massive fan of the Queen. I think she has done an incredible job and continues to do so.”
Other notable attendees included Julia Gillard, the first female Australian prime minister, Jill Scott, the England footballer, and Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, the former Iran detainee.
Jude Kelly, founder of WOW, was hailed by the Queen as “an inspiration to us all”.