Hillary Clinton has made her first public remarks since conceding the US election, looking tired and considerably less primped up than she did on the hustings

She’s told a gala audience in Washington that after the loss she has wanted to curl up “and never leave the house again”.

A week after election night Mrs Clinton appeared at a children’s charity gala at Newseum in Washington D.C.

Mrs Clinton wanted to “curl up” and “never leave the house again”. Photo: AP/Cliff Owen

She was greeted with thunderous applause and chants of “Hillary! Hillary! Hillary!” as she strode onto stage in a blue pantsuit and offered a broad wave.

She began her speech by admitting that appearing at the gala “wasn’t the easiest” for her.

“There have been a few times this past week where all I wanted to do was curl up with a good book and our dogs and never leave the house again.”

Mrs Clinton went on to acknowledge the disappointment of many Americans following the election.

Though she won the popular vote, she lost the electoral vote 232-306, in favour of now-President-elect Donald Trump.

During her 20-minute speech, the former presidential candidate urged her supporters to “believe in our country”, “fight for our values”, and “never, ever give up.”

“I know many of you are deeply disappointed about the results of the election – I am, too, more than I can ever express,” said the former first lady.

“But as I said last week, our campaign was never about one person or even one election. It was about the country we love, and building an America that is hopeful, inclusive and big hearted,” she added, as she urged her backers to “stay engaged on every level.”

“We need you. America needs you, your energy, your ambition, your talent. I know this isn’t easy. I know that over the past week a lot of people have asked themselves whether America was the country we thought it was. But please listen to me when I say this: America is worth it. Our children our worth it,” she said.

Watch her speech, which was posted to YouTube, here: