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‘I had to miss school’: Malala Yousafzai meets The Queen at Buckingham Palace

Malala Yousafzai continued winning fans of her story on Friday afternoon as she met The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh at Buckingham Palace.

The 16-year-old, who has received worldwide admiration for her continued campaign to have all girls in education, despite being shot my the Taliban last year, attended a reception for commonwealth youth and education at the Palace.

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Malala presents The Queen with her book on Friday afternoon at Buckingham Palace. (Photo:SkyNewsRoom/Youtube)

Malala presented the Queen with her new book ‘I am Malala’ and told her: “It is a great honour for me to be here, and I wanted to present you with this book.”

The Queen seemed pleased with the book and replied: “That’s very kind of you.”

The young girl revealed she had to miss a day at school for her appointment with the Queen.

“I had to miss school because I was meeting the Queen,” Malala explained. “It’s really an honour to meet The Queen.”

Last year, Malala was flown from Pakistan to the United Kingdom where she received treatment at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham. Her injuries, the result of a Taliban shooting were so bad her father had told relatives to prepare for a funeral.

However, after months in recovery, Malala was released from hospital and has continued to speak across the world.

She has won fans from Queen Rania of Jordan to actress Angelina Jolie and earlier this year addressed the United Nations receiving a standing ovation after her speech.

Speaking after meeting the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh Malala revealed she has been slightly nervous about how to greet the 87-year-old monarch.

“I was really confused before meeting her, because some people said you have to curtsey, and some people said you should not talk until she talks.

“Then when I met her, it was quite good and she was really nice. She talked to me in a very friendly kind of way.”

During her visit to the Palace, the 16-year-old also met Princess Beatrice and the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, who were also present at the reception.

Beatrice told Malala: “It’s so wonderful to meet you. What you’ve achieved is just so incredible. It’s an incredible thing to have your campaign. I’m very honoured to be meeting you.”