Olympic champion Ariarne Titmus starstruck as she receives a major honor while meeting 'their Majesties' at Parliament House

By Animesh Pandey

Modified Oct 22, 2024 07:09 GMT

Olympic champion swimmer Ariarne Titmus was starstruck after meeting King Charles and Queen Camilla yesterday, October 21, 2024. The royal couple from the United Kingdom came to Australia on a state visit and met several dignitaries and the Australian Olympians at Parliament House.

Titmus was surprised that Queen Camilla followed her performance throughout the Olympics. The 24-year-old Australian expressed her thoughts on her Instagram story:

"It was an absolute honor to be invited to the reception for their Majesties at the Parliament House today. As a little girl I made scrap books on the Royal weddings. Never did I ever dream of meeting the King and Queen one day. Turns out Queen Camilla is a swimming fan and was all over the results in Paris."

Screengrab of Ariarne Titmus' Instagram story (@ariarnetitmus_)

Titmus has won eight Olympic medals from two appearances, at Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024. She won two golds and two silvers this year.

---

Ariarne Titmus on Queen Camilla's interest in her performance at the Paris Olympics

Ariarne Titmus of Australia (R) with Olympic champion Katie Ledecky and bronze medalist Paige Madden of the USA (L) after the victory ceremony for the women's 800m freestyle event | Getty Images

Ariarne Titmus was overwhelmed by the presence of King Charles and Queen Camilla. She was further surprised by the Queen's interest in her performances at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

The Australian champion narrated to the Sydney Morning Herald how the Queen expressed her interest:

"She said she loves watching the swimming. I was actually very nervous to meet her – I love the royals – but she made me feel at ease, and it was honestly a once-in-a-lifetime moment.”

Titmus entered the Paris Olympics as a strong favorite for Team Australia. The 24-year-old swimmer won gold in the 400m freestyle and 4x200m freestyle relay. She narrowly missed out on a hat trick of Olympic gold medals, settling for silver in the 200m freestyle.

Titmus ended her campaign at the Paris Olympics with another silver medal in the 800m freestyle. She was edged out by Katie Ledecky, who won the gold medal with a timing of 8:11.04 minutes. Despite her loss, the Australian swimmer ended up with a new Oceanian record of 8:12.09 minutes as she clinched the silver medal.