Queen Camilla greeted fellow bookworms at The Queen's Reading Room Festival on the lawns of Chatsworth House in Derbyshire, apologising for the croak in her voice after days of public engagements that kept her from attending the Duchess of Kent's funeral. The 77-year-old monarch had fought through an acute sinusitis, yet she pressed on with this week’s festival schedule that included participation in a State Visit by President Donald Trump. The illness had forced her to withdraw from Tuesday’s funeral service, but she remained in the public eye as she championed the charity’s message: the transformative power of reading.
Arriving at Chatsworth, the Queen met women taking part in the charity's grassroots outreach program and joined a discussion about the positive impact of reading on mental health with participants supported by The Elm Foundation and neuroscientist Professor Sam Wass. The day also featured a screening of Pride and Prejudice on the house grounds and a performance of Jane Austen’s work for festival-goers.
In a short speech, Her Majesty celebrated Jane Austen’s 250th birthday and noted that Austen drew inspiration for the fictitious Pemberley from Chatsworth. She delivered, in part: "Ladies and gentlemen, it is a truth universally acknowledged that books make life better. They allow us to see through another's eyes, they comfort and encourage us, make us laugh, make us cry and free us to travel the globe without stepping outside our front doors. Moreover, scientific research by my Reading Room shows that books have significant benefits for both our brains and our emotions. Our aim is to unlock their transformative power to create a healthier, happier and more connected world – a world I hope that even Lizzie Bennett would have approved of…" The Queen also celebrated the success of her online Reading Room, launched in 2023 as a lockdown project in which she shared her nine favourite novels to inspire others to find solace in literature. The Reading Room has grown into an online community of more than 180,000 members and an annual audience of about 12 million people from 183 countries.
"This is our third festival, offering us the opportunity to celebrate the written word, to learn about the outstanding work of local charities and to spend time with our fellow bookworms. I'm delighted that so many of you have joined us this evening at Chatsworth: writers, actors, publishers and readers… in fact everyone involved in the wonderful world of books. Without you all we would not be here, so thank you. And now, ladies and gentlemen, I know that we have plenty of treats in store. I shall therefore stop, in case William feels the need to interrupt me with a sardonic, 'You have delighted us long enough'." The Queen’s Reading Room, launched by Her Majesty in 2023, is a charity celebrating and promoting the transformative power of books in the UK and beyond. The charity began as an Instagram book club during the 2021 lockdown and now seeks to promote accessibility and joy of stories through free, educational content, as well as staging major festivals and events across the UK and internationally.
During a reception with some of the country’s greatest literary talents, Camilla greeted Dame Jilly Cooper with a warm kiss on each cheek and spoke with the author about her popular Rivals series. Cooper—whose Gloucestershire home hosted a party earlier this year with Cooper’s cast—said she was thrilled by the invite and the connection between Cooper’s writing and the royal project. Cooper noted that her ex-husband, Andrew Parker Bowles, remains a close friend and that Camilla and Parker Bowles still get on well and share fond memories of their social circle.
Helen Fielding, Bridget Jones author and a guest at the event, said later that the public fixation on sex and romance in popular fiction helped bring younger generations back to reading. Fielding remarked that younger readers are rediscovering her work because it features romance and humor in a way that resonates with contemporary life.
As part of the festival’s charitable aim, Camilla placed books into a The Queen’s Reading Room Book Donation Point. The donated titles will be distributed to The Elm Foundation’s service users, aiding women who have experienced domestic abuse. Among the titles she tucked into the donation station were Sebastian Faulks's Charlotte Gray, Peter James's Dead Simple, Robert Harris's Archangel, Miss Austen and Still Life, along with other favourites. The Queen also met members of the public who had gathered for a screening of Pride and Prejudice and appeared to enjoy the royal presence on site.
The Queen’s Reading Room, which grew out of an Instagram book club formed during lockdown in 2021, aims to celebrate the accessibility and joys of storytelling. The charity, now online and in-person, hosts festivals and educational content to promote reading for mental health and well-being, extending its reach beyond the United Kingdom to audiences around the world. It has grown into a platform where readers, writers, publishers and performers can connect, reflecting Camilla’s long-standing advocacy for literature as a force for community and resilience.