Royal praises community spirit and champions literacy at Ratho Library reopening
Queen Camilla has issued a heartfelt plea to preserve libraries across the UK during a moving solo engagement in Scotland this week.
As part of Holyrood Week, the Queen visited the newly rebuilt Ratho Library in Newbridge, Edinburgh, where she officially opened the space and spent time with library staff, local residents, and authors. The reopening marked a significant milestone for the community, which had relied on a mobile library during the redevelopment.
During her visit, Queen Camilla applauded the local effort and used the occasion to shine a light on a cause she has long supported: literacy and community access to books.
“I wish a lot of other people would follow your example and open more libraries all over the country,” she said. “Sadly, a lot of them have been closing down. So to see something as wonderful as this being reopened is all to the credit of all of you who've made it happen.”
A devoted advocate for reading, the Queen serves as patron to various literacy organisations and regularly promotes the joy of books across all age groups. In her speech, she praised libraries as intergenerational spaces that inspire learning and connection—from toddlers to pensioners.
The 77-year-old royal also met bestselling author Paula Hawkins, known for The Girl on the Train, and shared a personal admission: “I’m very partial to crime novels.”
Her words underscored her ongoing mission to keep libraries thriving in local communities—spaces that not only offer books, but also encourage dialogue, imagination, and lifelong learning.
The newly opened Ratho Library has already been embraced by residents, symbolising both a fresh chapter for the area and a reminder of how vital public libraries remain in today’s world.
