The Queen reveals she had braces as a child during visit to dental hospital

The Queen revealed she had braces as a child as she opened the new premises of the Royal National ENT and Eastman Dental Hospitals in London on Wednesday. While touring the dental specialist floor, the 93-year-old monarch was shown a model with wire braces by Kerry Tilbury, one of the teaching nurses.

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Her Majesty said: "I had wires, luckily it was a very long time ago." The Queen then met children receiving treatment, including ten-year-old Ilia Aristovich, who was having braces fitted. The monarch told him: "I think it's worth it, in the end."

The Queen isn't the only royal to have had wires fitted in her childhood. Several of her grandchildren had braces when they were younger, including Prince Harry, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie. The Earl and Countess of Wessex's daughter Lady Louise Windsor, 16, also currently wears braces.

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Prince Harry with braces in 1999

During her tour of the new facilities, the Queen also stopped at the specialist audio and hearing unit, where she met eight-year-old Lily Conlan, who has two cochlear implants. "So, you have two, do you?" the Queen asked her: "Well, that's very good. And is it a very noisy world, now?" Lily told her: "Every year, as well as a birthday party, I have a party for my cochlear implants, so we celebrate my hearing." The Queen, beaming, said: "Splendid. What a very good idea."

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The Queen met young dental patients

The state-of-the-art facility brings the Royal National Throat Nose and Ear Hospital and the Eastman Dental Hospital together under one roof. The hospitals are part of UCLH (University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust), and the two institutions have combined histories of more than 230 years of innovation in healthcare. Both undertake groundbreaking research and develop new ways to treat rare and complex dental, ear, nose, throat, hearing and balance conditions. More than 200,000 appointments will be carried out each year at the new facility.

The Queen's engagement on Wednesday marked her first in London since returning from her winter break in Sandringham last year.

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