Camilla delights children with Gruffalo drawing during visit to Hamburg school

The Queen Consort delighted schoolchildren with her art skills this afternoon as she got stuck into some drawing.

The royal, 75, was joined by The Gruffalo illustrator Axel Scheffler to read passages of the iconic book to students at Rudolf Ross school in Hamburg,

The visit was one of King Charles and Camilla’s final engagements on their three-day tour of Germany.

After reading out excerpts from the best-selling children’s book, which was first published in 1999, the Queen Consort was invited to join students in drawing the legendary children’s character.

Camilla was pictured closely studying the illustrations in the book before then sketching out the main character on a plain sheet of paper.

Using only a pencil, the royal expertly recreated the Grufallo’s shaggy coat and rotund shape. 

Pleased with her handiwork, the Queen Consort signed the drawing ‘Camilla R’ and left it for the class to remember the visit by.

During the engagement, Camilla was quizzed by the children about whether she speaks German – to which she jokingly replied with: ‘Nein.’

When asked about her favourite pass-times, Camilla revealed she enjoys gardening, reading and swimming in the sea.

Talking about her hobbies, Camilla said: ‘I used to have horses I rode but sadly I don’t ride any longer.

‘I think I’m too old but I have race horses. Last night I watched on my screen one of the foals being born which was very exciting.’

Scheffler said: ‘It is extremely important for children to read and draw as one in five children in the UK do not have a single book.

‘Some children cannot even read or write and it is a big problem.

After reading excerpts of the book, the Queen Consort was tasked with drawing the main character 

Using only a pencil, the royal expertly recreated the Grufallo’s shaggy coat and rotund shape. She then signed the  drawing ‘Camilla R’

‘The Queen Consort is very much involved in changing that.’

Earlier in the day, Camilla laid a single white rose at the the Kindertranporte memorial – which honours the rescue mission in 1938, which granted 10,000 child refugees entry into the UK from Nazi Germany.

The royal looked pensive as she laid the flower on the ‘Final Parting’ bronze sculpture, which was first erected in 2015. 

The memorial depicts two groups of children – those in the lighter brown representing the children who were evacuated to new lives abroad while those cast in the darker colour represent the thousands of children who were transported by train to concentration camps.

The Queen Consort happily posed for photos with her drawing after the challenge was completed

Camilla, Queen Consort and Axel Scheffler, the illustrator of the children’s book The Gruffalo, pictured at Rudolf Ross school in Hamburg

The two visitors were pictured sitting in a circle with schoolchildren for storytime this afternoon

Created by Frank Meisler, it is one of five such installations across Europe, one of which is at Liverpool Street Station in London.

However, this isn’t the first time Camilla has got stuck into some artwork with schoolchildren.

In 2014, the then Duchess of Cornwall proved she can also rattle off a passable cartoon when the occasion requires while visiting Exeter Library in Devon.

While opening a new facility and promote its Summer Reading Challenge, the royal was challenged to put pen to paper in front of a group of schoolchildren 

The youngsters from St Leonard’s Primary School had themselves been working with award-winning illustrator, Sarah McIntyre, to create their own imaginary ‘mythical monsters’.