Queen Camilla shared a warm moment with James Middleton, known for his passion for dogs, as they greeted each other with a hug and a kiss during a special royal event celebrating life-saving dogs.
The 78-year-old Queen Camilla and James, a prominent dog breeder, reunited at a royal reception that highlighted the extraordinary achievements of canines trained to detect diseases and illnesses.
Commending the efforts of Medical Detection Dogs, Camilla addressed the attendees, countering skepticism by asserting that “nature will always lead the way,” emphasizing the significant role these dogs play.
During the event, Camilla expressed her pleasure at seeing James, the brother of the Princess, who is involved with the dog food company Ella & Co, which provides treats to the organization MDD.
“It’s wonderful to see you supporting them,” Camilla remarked, acknowledging his contributions. “You’re providing some food for them, aren’t you?”
James responded, “Yes, treats. I’m incredibly lucky to be part of this. I’m amazed by what they accomplish. It’s remarkable. We have as much to learn from dogs as they do from us.”
Camilla also watched a demonstration by golden Labrador, Jodie, who is part of a new team of dogs being trained to sniff out bowel cancer, successfully pick out a sample of the disease twice.
Camilla, who is patron of the charity MDD, hosted the event at her London home, Clarence House, for supporters as well as some of the amazing canines themselves.
Queen Camilla bonded with Kate’s dog-loving brother James Middleton at a reception for the Medical Detection Dogs charity
Some of the dogs are trained to alert their handlers to positive samples for diseases such as cancer, while others are trained by MDD to alert owners if a life-threatening medical event is about to happen.
Her Majesty met guests, including Lucy, 39, who is supported by MDD and was accompanied by her Medical Alert Assistance Dog, Wolfie, a black Labrador who helps to save Lucy’s life daily by alerting her to oncoming Postural Tachycardia Syndrome, a heart condition which can cause fainting and fatigue which has previously resulted in serious injury.
Lucy, from Bristol, who was also diagnosed with breast cancer seven years ago and suffers from ME, told the Queen that Wolfie had ‘changed my life’.
‘They are extraordinary the way they change your life,’ Camilla agreed.
Lucy said afterwards: ‘My PoTs was exacerbated by my chemo and I was frequently hospitalised previously.
‘Wolfie was my pet, but I decided during the Covid lockdown to train him with the help of MDD. Now I couldn’t do anything without him. I was sitting down the other day and he clearly detected an episode by putting his head in my lap and preventing me from standing up. Sometimes he touches me with his nose.
‘Meeting the Queen today and being able to tell her about it is my pinch-me moment.‘
Following the reception, Her Majesty watched a demonstration by Jodie, who instantly picked out two separate samples of urine donated by someone with bowel cancer from three other ‘control’ samples.
Camilla and James greeted each other warmly at today’s event
Camilla, 77, sweetly petting Florin, an original prostate screening dog,
Camilla also watched a demonstration by golden Labrador, Jodie, who is part of a new team of dogs being trained to sniff out bowel cancer
Camilla bending to greet the affectionate golden retriever Jodie
She also watched a demonstration of the MDD’s new ‘electronic nose’, a potentially revolutionary collaboration between the charity and Dr Andreas Mershin from RealNose.AI to replicate the dogs’ diagnostic accuracy in scalable technology.
The device is an early prostate cancer screening tool and has been inspired and informed by MDD Bio Detection Dogs, including Florin, an original prostate screening dog, whom the Queen also met.
‘There have been a lot of sceptical people who have been transformed by what they have seen,’ the Queen said.
Consultant oncologist Alan Makepeace, who works as an advisor to the charity, said he had arrived as a sceptic but was now a convert to the power of the dogs and what they could achieve.
He said: ‘The adage seeing is believing is very powerful.
‘As a consultant oncologist, I was a sceptic. Shame on me.’
He said the procedure the dogs adopted when sniffing out specific scents is ‘very complex’.
‘Scent is one of our main senses but the medical profession has ignored this because we can’t smell very well. But of course, any theory should not be dismissed because we don’t have the ability to do it personally,’ he explained.
He said the development using AI to replicate what the dogs could do was an ‘exciting development’ with limitless possibilities.
Her Majesty has been Patron of MDD since 2014 and is a huge supporter of their work training Bio Detection Dogs who can use their incredible sense of smell to sniff out conditions such as cancer and Covid-19.
Medical Alert Assistance Dogs and Bio Detection Dogs can be trained to detect even the tiniest trace of the smell caused by a medical condition.
Medical Alert Assistance Dogs support people with complex health conditions like Type 1 diabetes, PoTS and severe allergies when they are in danger of having a potentially life-threatening medical event, so they can take the necessary action and prevent hospital admission.
Bio Detection Dogs are trained to detect diseases like cancers, Parkinson’s, Covid-19, malaria and bacterial infections on samples in the charity’s training room.
It is hoped the animals will help to revolutionise medical screening, as well as help individual patients.
