After attending a very special private afternoon tea with Queen Camilla at Buckingham Palace, Tony Hudgell and Lyla O’Donovan seem to have become the best of friends.
Their sweet bond is not surprising as Tony and Lyla have experienced traumatic ordeals that most children their age have not.
Tony, nine, lost both legs to horrific abuse by his birth parents, while Lyla, 11, has a rare brain tumour.
The children were offered the rare chance to have a private tea with royalty last week, after missing out on one of King Charles’s garden parties due to a combination of bad traffic and ill health.
The pair subsequently appeared on Monday’s This Morning alongside their parents to discuss their exciting afternoon out having tea with the Queen last Wednesday.
Tony Hudgell and Lyla O’Donovan showed off their sweet friendship on Monday’s This Morning
The pair – who attended a private afternoon tea with Queen Camilla last week – kept looking at each other for support in front of the TV cameras
The afternoon had clearly brought them close together, as the two looked to each other for support when asked questions by hosts Ben Shepherd and Cat Deeley.
And while Lyla’s father Paul explained that she was diagnosed with a brain tumour in 2016 at just three-years-old, an attentive Tony was focused on making sure she looked ready for the cameras.
Used to the spotlight, Tony has appeared on TV multiple times over the years and was keen to make sure Lyla was also feeling as comfortable as possible.
He sweetly adjusted Lyla’s headband, giving her a thumbs up when he’d done so.
He was then seen carefully brushing her hair forwards over her shoulder and straightening out the pieces at the back, before giving her a final check over.
When Tony was asked about the party and the delicious food they had to eat, he immediately turned to Lyla, asking: ‘We had a ham sandwich, what else did we have?’
Their afternoon together at the palace was clearly a very special one, as the pair enjoyed crustless sandwiches, Kings-guard iced biscuits, miniature profiteroles, strawberry tarts, and squares of chocolate cake – topped with a crown.
Tony and Lyla watched the Changing of the Guard ceremony together, before joining Queen Camilla at the Summer House in Buckingham Palace for afternoon tea.
While Lyla spoke to the Queen about books, phones and even TikTok, Tony said he spoke to Camilla about school.
Queen Camilla with Tony Hudgell, from West Malling in Kent, and Lyla O’Donovan from Catterick, during a private tea party in the gardens of Buckingham Palace last Wednesday
An attentive Tony made sure that Lyla was camera-ready, rearranging her hair and headband
Tony and Lyla O’Donovan watched the Changing Of The Guard before attending the private tea party
Tony and Lyla were in for a treat with the special afternoon tea, which included crustless sandwiches and cake
Tony was ‘very happy’ after Camilla presented him with a British Empire Medal for his bravery and fundraising efforts
Tony and Lyla appeared on This Morning with their parents. Paula Hudgell is second right, Paul O’Donovan is pictured on the right
Lyla, 11, has also raised funds for seriously ill children while living with a rare brain tumour herself and was awarded the ‘Inspirational Service Child of the Year’.
Her father, Corporal Paul O’Donovan, serves with The 6 Rifles, of which the Queen is Colonel-in-Chief.
Speaking on This Morning, Paul said Lyla has undergone ‘countless’ operations over the years, adding: ‘We’re just trying to raise awareness for people living with brain tumours and people with the signs and symptoms because we fought for well over a year for Lyla to be diagnosed.
‘My wife Kirsty thought that there was something wrong with her, backwards and forwards with the GP, different hospitals… and they all just told her she was being overdramatic.
‘They told her Lyla was acting – but Lyla was only two at that stage.’
Tony was also awarded with his British Empire Medal at the tea, after Queen Camilla herself personally requested to give it to him.
Tony’s adoptive mother Paula said: ‘Sadly we got stuck right behind a lorry fire. We couldn’t get off the motorway or go another way at all. We were stuck there for four hours.
‘He was actually meant to get his medal from the local lieutenant last week, but then when the Queen arranged his garden party, she asked if she could give him his medal, which was very very special.
Tony Hudgell was unable to make it to the Buckingham Palace garden party on May 8 after getting stuck in traffic on the M20. But Palace officials promised to conjure up another date
‘I tweeted because we had so many followers wishing us a good day at the garden party – not expecting for one minute that the royal correspondents would reply and tweet back saying, would you like to try again another day!
‘We never envisaged that it was going to be a quiet little afternoon tea, it was just incredible. It was wonderful.’
Tony is the youngest person ever to be the recipient of a New Years Honours award for his fundraising efforts at just nine years old.
A British Empire Medal is awarded by the Crown for ‘sustained commitment’ in support of charitable or voluntary activity, that has delivered real impact. Presentations of the medals are usually delivered locally.
He told This Morning hosts Cat and Ben that he’d ‘really liked’ the afternoon and it was ‘really fun’.
Tony faced unspeakable cruelty at the hands of his mother and father before he was even two months old – necessitating the amputation of both his lower legs.
In 2022, Tony, who has previously met the Prince and Princess of Wales, inspired what’s known as Tony’s Law, which sanctions increased prison sentences for those convicted of child cruelty and neglect.
He has had prosthetics on his lower legs since he was a toddler, after being abused as a baby.
Despite the horrific abuse he suffered, Tony has gone on to become a fundraiser, and the recipient of the Pride of Britain Award and UK Points of Light award, completing a 10km walk and raising £1.3 million at the age of five.
He said that he wants his next mission to be to ‘climb Everest’, saying: ‘The wheelchair won’t go up it, but I could crawl it.
‘Even if my hands all turn to ice, I’ll still go up it!’
Tony’s adoptive mother, Paula Hudgell, previously took to X (formerly Twitter) to reveal that her son had received the exciting invitation to the King’s garden party.
She wrote: ‘Tony is over the moon and excited to have been invited by The King to the Royal Garden Party at Buckingham Palace this Wednesday – let’s hope the sun is shinning.’
Her words were accompanied by a picture of Tony holding the invitation and smiling as he showed it to the camera.
But after he was stuck in traffic, Paula wrote that he was ‘stuck on [the] M20 for last 2 hours’ and so ‘won’t be making the King’s Garden Party’.
Later that night, he received a consoling word from Palace officials who, in response to the day’s misfortune, promised to conjure up another date, assuring Tony: ‘Leave it with us.’
Tony’s biological parents, Anthony Smith, 47, and Jody Simpson, 24, were each jailed for ten years in 2018 for the torture they inflicted on their 41-day-old son in 2014, leaving him with injuries including broken fingers and toes and torn ligaments.
Despite suffering such unspeakable abuse in the earliest days of his life, little Tony has grown up to be a kind and determined boy who has raised around £2 million for charity by walking great distances on his crutches.
Tony has previously been hailed a hero by Prince William and wife Kate over his extraordinary fundraising walks to help vulnerable children.
He set out to raise £500 for the hospital that saved his life by walking 10km in 30 days in 2020 after being inspired by Captain Sir Tom Moore, who raised more than £33million walking in his backyard.
In 2021, a foundation set up in his name to enhance the lives of children who have been affected by physical, emotional, or psychological abuse provided more than 700 Christmas presents for youngsters in need, and it continued the tradition last Christmas too.
The nine-year-old’s phenomenal fundraising achievements come despite an incredibly tough start to life which led to him undergoing 23 operations and eight blood transfusions.
The horrific abuse he was subject to by his birth parents caused serious injuries – and the infant also developed sepsis because Smith and Simpson waited 10 days before taking him to hospital.
His fortunes turned around after his life was saved by specialists at the Evelina London Children’s Hospital, of which the Princess of Wales is an official patron.
The King and Queen at the Buckingham Palace garden party on May 8 which Tony missed
Tony Hudgell had completed a 10km walk and raised £1.3million by the age of five
Tony had major surgery after his birth parents inflicted life-changing injuries on him as a baby
Tony also met the Princess of Wales in December last year during her visit to officially open the Evelina London Children’s Day Surgery Unit at London’s Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital
Then, in 2016, he finally found a loving home with Paula and Mark, who have campaigned tirelessly in Tony’s interests since welcoming him into the family – including a bid for Tony’s Law, which introduced tougher sentences for child cruelty.
They have also encouraged his fundraising efforts to help other children – which have seen him rub shoulders with very famous figures.
After completing his big walk, Tony met the Prince and Princess of Wales who ‘spent ages’ chatting with the youngster when the couple attended Together At Christmas carol concert at Westminster Abbey last year.
He has also met Prince Harry along with a string of celebrities and earlier this year he was singled out for his inspiration by then Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
Despite the attention attention Paula said of Tony: ‘He takes all of it in his stride, so to speak. He is just amazing.
‘He’s very much a people person. He can encapture a room of people and will talk to them all.’
In December, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis posted letters to Tony at their mother’s annual Christmas service.
To donate to the family’s fundraiser, click here.