NEED TO KNOW<\/p>\n
Queen Camilla<\/a> was buzzing when she met a royal superfan with tattoos honoring the monarchy \u2014 and made a surprising confession about her own link to the ink.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n On July 23, the Queen, 78, made the unexpected revelation while greeting members of the public outside the Sandringham Flower Show, which she attended alongside her husband King Charles<\/a>.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n The flower show is expected to be one of the royal couple’s final joint appearances before they retreat for a traditional summer break<\/a>. During the outing, the Queen appeared stunned as she took in royal fan Phil Smith\u2019s impressive display of four large tattoos on his left leg \u2014 each one dedicated to the royal family.\n<\/p>\n From ankle to thigh, Smith has inked the cyphers of the late Queen Elizabeth<\/a>, King Charles, Queen Camilla, and most recently, Charles and Camilla\u2019s joint royal cypher as a couple \u2014 the latest addition to his royal collection.\n<\/p>\n Queen Camilla meets Phil Smith at the Sandringham Flower Show on July 23, 2025.<\/p>\n Chris Radburn – WPA Pool\/Getty<\/p>\n The fan fittingly wore shorts to show the Queen, and cameras captured her candid reaction. According to the Daily Mail<\/a>, she turned to one of her bodyguards and exclaimed, \u201cLook, he\u2019s got one too!\u201d\n<\/p>\n Phil Smith, 61, told the outlet that he thought the Queen was “fabulous” \u2014 and revealed that she shared a surprising connection to his ink: one of her security guards has a royal cypher tattoo, too.\n<\/p>\n Phil Smith shows off his tattoos.<\/p>\n Chris Radburn – WPA Pool\/Getty<\/p>\n “‘I just think she’s fabulous and have got to know her a bit. We just hit it off,” said Smith, who has been writing to Camilla since before she married King Charles in 2005.\n<\/p>\n Phil Smith at the Sandringham Flower Show on July 23, 2025.<\/p>\n Chris Radburn – WPA Pool\/Getty<\/p>\n “I love the royal family and she in particular has got a good sense of humor. She frequently responds,” he said. “I waited to see her to show her my latest [tattoo] and she laughed. She said one of her security men has also had it done too.”\n<\/p>\n The Northampton man said his latest ink took over two hours and that the process itself was painful.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n Reflecting on the memorable encounter, Smith said, “Honestly, she’s just great. We exchange letters. She knew who I was. She asked how long it [the latest tattoo] took and I told her about two and a half hours.”\n<\/p>\n “But I told her this one bloody hurt. She just finds it hilarious,” he told the Daily Mail. “She pulled her police officer’s sleeve and said, ‘Look, it’s catching on!’ ”\n<\/p>\n The superfan noted that the officer, who was accompanying the Queen that day, appeared to have a tattoo of the King and Queen\u2019s royal insignia as well.\n<\/p>\n Chris Jackson\/Getty<\/p>\n Royal cyphers are monograms used across official communications and some government buildings, documents and signage. Following his accession to the throne in September 2022, Charles and Camilla both received new emblems<\/a> to reflect that status.\n<\/p>\n Their joint cypher was revealed the following spring in a design that features two interlocking C’s, representing the initials of the King and Queen’s first names, intertwined with R for Rex, or “King” in Latin.\n<\/p>\n Tattoos are rare within the British royal family, but in June 2022, Princess Eugenie<\/a> quietly debuted a small circular tattoo<\/a> behind her left ear during the Queen\u2019s Platinum Jubilee celebrations.\n<\/p>\n Princess Eugenie attends a National Service of Thanksgiving celebrating the Platinum Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth at St. Paul’s Cathedral on June 3, 2022. Can’t get enough of PEOPLE’s Royals coverage? Sign up for our free Royals newsletter<\/a> to get the latest updates on Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle and more!<\/strong>\n<\/p>\n The move made Eugenie, 35, the highest-ranking royal in the line of succession to the British throne with a visible tattoo \u2014\u00a0and she’s in good company. King Frederik<\/a> of Denmark, Princess Sofia<\/a> of Sweden and Princess Stephanie of Monaco all have tattoos, too.<\/p>\n Prince Harry<\/a> had his own brush with ink last year, when he appeared to get a (fake) tattoo<\/a> from musician Jelly Roll in a skit tied to the Invictus Games \u2014 filmed at East Side Ink in New York City.\n<\/p>\n After the shoot, the Duke of Sussex, 40, sent a handwritten thank-you note<\/a> to tattoo artist Josh Lord, writing: \u201cThank you so much for your generosity in offering us your space at East Side Ink for filming \u2014 it was incredibly kind, and I really enjoyed meeting you and learning more about the history of your shop.\u201d\n<\/p>\n Invictus Games<\/p>\n
\nMax Mumby\/Indigo\/Getty<\/p>\n