Lesser-known royal joins King and Queen as Camilla launches special new medal
The Queen stepped out in London today for a poignant reception at Clarence House, joined by her husband King Charles and another key royal.
Queen Camilla was joined by her husband, King Charles, and the Duchess of Gloucester as she launched a new medal tonight to celebrate people who champion books and storytelling in their local communities. The Queen looked dazzling in a velvet blue shirt dress as she hosted the star-studded reception at Clarence House.
Guests tonight included leading authors and representatives from her book club, The Queen’s Reading Room. Literary heavyweights including Anthony Horowitz, Anne Cleeves and Peter James attended the celebration alongside other supporters of the project, such as Dame Joanna Lumley and Richard E. Grant. The Queen’s children Laura Lopes and Tom Parker-Bowles, Sarah and Daniel Chatto, as well as Her Majesty's sister Annabel Elliot, also attended. During the reception, Her Majesty viewed the design of the new Queen’s Reading Room Medal and met the judging panel, who will pick the first recipient set to be announced next year.
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Winners could be those who founded reading groups, facilitated the donation of books or improved access to local libraries.
During her speech, the Queen spoke of how the "magic of storytelling" lies in its "ability to make a community of anyone who loves to read and who is compelled to write".
Camilla said: "Through literature, we experience life through another’s eyes, we are comforted, strengthened, we laugh, we cry, we travel to different lands, and we escape the real world. In short, books, and those who create them, make life better... much better – so thank you.
"Making life better is the ultimate aim of my Reading Room. We believe that books make for a happier, healthier and more connected society.
"We know from our scientific research that reading brings invaluable benefits to brain and mental health and we see firsthand the impact stories have on how we understand, and articulate, the world both as we find it, and as we dream it to be."
A small selection of items from Jane Austen House and the Royal Collection Trust relating to the acclaimed author were also present for guests to view in celebration of the 250th anniversary of her birth.
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The Queen said her current Reading Room recommendation was Sense And Sensibility, Austen's first, anonymously published novel.
She said: "One of the first people to buy her book was the future King George IV, who paid 15 shillings for it two days before it was publicly advertised.
"He liked it so much that, two years later, he bought a second copy. Her voice and characters remain as fresh, witty and true to life as ever. Who among us has not encountered the pomposity of a Mr Collins, the dastardly attractiveness of a Willoughby, or the gossipy meddling of an Emma?"
The award celebrates the example set by thousands of grassroots workers, often volunteers, who tirelessly devote themselves to promoting books and reading for pleasure within their communities.
Literature is a key part of Camilla’s work, as she aims to celebrate and promote the power and benefits of reading.
