As an avid reader, Queen Camilla has championed reading as a key area of her royal visits over the years and in 2020, she channelled both her passion and work into creating an online reading room, appropriately titled ‘The Queen’s Reading Room‘ (formerly The Duchess of Cornwall’s Reading Room).
Five years later, Camilla has personally recommended 76 books with the initiative beginning with Dame Hilary Mantel’s The Mirror And The Light, William Boyd’s Restless, Where The Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens and The Architect’s Apprentice by Elif Shafak. Additionally, The King, The Princess of Wales and Queen Mathilde of the Belgians have all contributed their own selections. Launching as a charity in 2023, The Queen’s Reading Room has donated more than 2,300 books to 11 grassroots locations, including inpatients at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in London, and supporting reading groups at homeless shelters and domestic abuse refuges.
In addition to a new photograph taken by Chris Jackson, Her Majesty has marked the fifth anniversary of her Reading Room by sharing a message, with a profound call to action.
Reflected on how she started her book club ‘in the hope that others might derive as much enjoyment from good literature’ as much as she does, Camilla notes how the book club has grown globally and supports book lovers in ‘a shared belief in the power of reading’.
Stating that she is proud of what her charity ‘has achieved, reaching millions of people, staging remarkable events and partnering with incredible organisations to bring books to people who need them most’, it has also conducted ‘groundbreaking research’ which has shown that ‘reading truly changes how we perceive, how we think and how we connect’.
Global reading rates at currently at their lowest, with one in three (32.7%) children and young people aged eight to 18 in the UK said they enjoyed reading in 2025, according to National Literacy Trust, which is the lowest level since the question was first asked in 2005. Camilla stresses that the Reading Room’s mission feels more urgent than ever adding that ‘books do make life better – and this is only the beginning’.
To coincide with its fifth anniversary, The Queen’s Reading Room’s motto this year is Make Room for Reading, with a drive to encourage people to find easy ways to fit in just five minutes of reading a day. The charity will also focus on “lighting little fires” by inspiring others to make small positive changes.
Chief Executive of The Queen’s Reading Room, Vicki Perrin said: “There’s just been so much that has been achieved and all of it really comes down to the special magic of the Queen’s Reading Room, which is Her Majesty – the fact that she is this person who is so authentically passionate about literature and literacy, and about spreading the joy and love of reading.”
“She [Camilla] founded the charity. It’s very much her baby. She still chooses all of the books that are featured on the book club, and is by far the most well-read person I’ve ever had the pleasure to meet.
“Often, when I go in to see her, the defining image of Her Majesty is in her armchair with piles and piles of books on the side table and on the floor by her feet, and she’s talking about this latest one that she’s read, and she’s got a proof of a new book that’s coming out, and that she’s really enjoying.”
