Meeting the Queen: Malala all giggly in palace appearance

Presents biography to the British monarch.

LONDON:

Malala Yousafzai was reduced to fits of laughter on Friday by Queen Elizabeth II’s husband Prince Philip as she met the royal couple at Buckingham Palace.

The 16-year-old, who was shot by the Taliban for championing girls’ rights to an education, met Queen Elizabeth at a reception for youth, education and the Commonwealth.

The activist survived being shot in the head on her school bus on October 9 last year and was sent for treatment to Britain where she now lives.



Malala, accompanied by her father, gave the queen a copy of her autobiography, “I Am Malala”, telling her: “It is a great honour for me to be here, and I wanted to present you with this book.”

Accepting the gift, the 87-year-old monarch replied: “That’s very kind of you.”

Malala told the queen, who is head of the Commonwealth, that she was passionate about every child around the world having a right to an education.

“Especially in this country as well,” she added.

“I have heard about many children that can’t go to school, and I want to continue our work.”

Prince Philip, 92, joked that in Britain, people wanted their children to go to school to get them out of the house -- a comment that left Malala covering her face in a fit of giggles.

The reception, in the palace’s White Drawing Room, was attended by 350 guests from academic institutions around the world.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 19^th, 2013.