There was an exciting royal tea party taking place at St James' Palace, in honour of International Women's Day (Sunday 8 March). Trailblazing model and Strictly Come Dancing star Ellie Goldstein was invited to join Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, for tea and treats alongside her dance partner from the show, Vito Coppola.
During the tea party, Sophie admitted to be a fan of Strictly and particularly of Ellie's performance, saying, 'I loved it, absolutely loved it'. She praised Ellie for taking part saying, 'I think you’ve got to be braver than a lion to do that show, I really do.' The Duchess welcomed the duo to the palace alongside Ellie's mum, Yvonne and CEO of Mencap, Jon Sparkes OBE. Mencap is the national learning disability charity, of which Ellie is a 'Mencap Myth Buster' representative, and Sophie is patron.
During the event, Ellie and Vito treated the guests to a dance, impressing Sophie who said, it must have been 'very difficult on carpet.' The Duchess also shared a cake dedicated to Ellie, who declared it, the 'best cake in the whole entire world.' Before leaving, Sophie thanked Ellie for being 'such a wonderful inspiration.'
Reflecting on the event afterwards, Ellie said that she was 'proud and happy' to have been invited to St James' Palace and that the day was 'so exciting' and 'quite unbelievable'.
She also revealed what Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh was really like; 'She was so kind and easy to talk to and asked lots of questions about my time on Strictly. It means so much to be recognised by a Member of the Royal Family.' Ellie described the meeting as 'amazing' and said she was 'proud to show that people with a learning disability can achieve their dreams and to never give up what they want to do.'
In a post, the Royal Family said, 'This International Women’s Day, we celebrate the wonderful Ellie Goldstein and the extraordinary legacy she created, following her trailblazing appearance on Strictly Come Dancing this year,' and shared clips of the special day.
