Queen Camilla giving senior royals ‘nicknames’ after landing new role beyond palace walls

Queen Camilla has assigned "nicknames" to senior members of the Royal Household after securing a literary role, it has been claimed. Her Majesty, a passionate book advocate who launched the successful Reading Room initiative in 2021, landed a dream role earlier this year when her favourite author, crime writer Peter James, incorporated both her and King Charles into a novel. 

Camilla reportedly enjoys a central role in The Hawk Is Dead: A Killer In The Palace (part of James' best-selling Roy Grace series), a tale that sees a detective investigating a murder in Buckingham Palace. It seems that the Queen has felt so inspired by the books that she's even started giving senior members of the Royal household nicknames, according to the Mail's Richard Eden, who explained how "truth is imitating fiction".

He wrote: "Peter James substitutes the names of Royal Household staff members in his new novel, The Hawk Is Dead, in which fictional detective Roy Grace and Queen Camilla search for a killer in Buckingham Palace."

He continued: "Now Her Majesty's favourite crime writer learns that truth is imitating fiction behind palace walls. 'I've heard Camilla is calling senior members of the Royal Household by the nicknames I've given them in the book,' he tells me, divulging: 'She's calling the master of the Royal Household (Vice Admiral Sir Tony Johnstone-Burt) 'Tommy' - in the book he's 'General Tommy.'"

The novel's publishers, Pan Macmillan, described how the tale opened with a "cinematic derailment" of the Royal Train before Roy Grace embarks on a trip "deep into the heart" of Buckingham Palace. 

As the plot unfolds, the detective must investigate a murder and what appears to be a "royal assassination attempt". In its summary, the publisher also highlighted the Queen's Reading Room project. 

It wrote: "Queen Camilla, a well-known book lover and reading champion through her charity The Queen’s Reading Room, has always been one of the first people to receive each Grace novel and is excited to have a starring role, alongside King Charles, in Peter’s latest thriller."

On its official website, the Queen's Reading Room details how the initiative seeks to "celebrate and promote" both the "power and benefits" of reading and even provides a quote from the Queen herself.

Camilla explains how books had "enriched" her life since she was a child, noting their "extraordinary power". She wrote that it had been a "joy" to witness the project evolve into a "thriving book community".

She added: "Now a charity, I hope that we, together with our partners, can foster in adults and children alike a lifelong love of literature and connect more people with that special magic that can only be found in the leaves of a book."

Speaking about the Queen's love of his work, Peter, with whom Camilla has reportedly struck up a friendship, was "moved to tears" by her selection of Grace as her favourite detective.

He also shared details about the Queen's inclusion in the book during an interview, saying that he ran the idea by Camilla, and she "loved it". Peter also revealed that he received "invaluable" input from the royal household, "including Her Majesty".