Royal fans are delighted the “inspirational” Queen’s Reading Room Festival has returned for its third year, currently taking place at Chatsworth House in Derbyshire. The literary festival is a two-day event taking place on September 19-20, and brings together a star-studded line-up of acclaimed authors, experts, actors, and literature lovers to celebrate the written word.
Queen Camilla greeted famous book lovers during a reception at the Grade I listed stately home in Derbyshire on Friday, also marking the 250th anniversary year of author Jane Austen’s birth. Fans have praised Camilla for her continuation of the reading initiative. One wrote on X: “So important for the future care of little and growing minds. God bless Camilla on her quest for the betterment of an upcoming generation.” Another exclaimed: “A wonderful initiative – books truly have the power to inspire, connect, and transform lives. Lovely to see Her Majesty championing the joy of reading.”
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A third said: “Dear HRM Queen Camilla. Thank you for highlighting both the joy of reading and the ability of books to transform lives.”
Another wrote: “What a lovely initiative! The Queen’s Reading Room is such a great way to highlight the power of books in shaping lives. Books really do make everything better. Proud to see something like this happening in the UK!”
Speaking at Chatsworth House, Derbyshire, on Friday, Camilla said: “It seems only fitting that, in the 250th anniversary year of Jane Austen’s birth, we are reminded that this magnificent backdrop was her inspiration for Pemberley in Pride and Prejudice.
She added: “Who can forget the infamous scene of Mr Darcy emerging from the lake in the BBC version… Maybe, William, you could be persuaded to re-enact this memorable moment in the lake here a little later on – to add to the excitement of the day?!”
Camilla was referring to Lord William Burlington, the chairman of The Chatsworth House Trust.
Camilla opemed the festival for The Queen’s Reading Room, a charity she founded following the success of her Instagram book club during the pandemic, hosting its third festival at the grounds.
The Queen added: “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.
“As some of you may know, my Reading Room started humbly and, in the face of several naysayers, as a list of nine of my favourite novels scribbled on a notepad during the first lockdown.
“It is now an online community of over 180,000, with an annual audience of 12 million people from 183 countries, supported by a very special array of literary and literacy friends.”
