Queen Camilla has shared how she and King Charles enjoy reading together before dinner.
In a preview of the BBC documentary The Book That Changed My Life, due to air on October 14, Camilla said they like to sit quietly with their books.
But their reading time is not always quiet. Sometimes Charles laughs loudly at something in his book, making it hard for her to concentrate.
Camilla said books can also make her cry. Even with these interruptions, she enjoys the peaceful time they spend together.
She described reading as something that makes her feel better. She also said books are an important part of our history and culture, and losing them would be a tragedy.
Camilla recalled enjoying romance novels as a teenager in the 1960s. She and other teenagers would hide D.H. Lawrence’s Lady Chatterley’s Lover under their pillows and read it by torchlight.
She said the book’s forbidden reputation made them even more curious to read it.
Camilla also explained that she left school young and did not attend university. Reading, she said, provided much of her education.
In 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic, she started an online book club called the Queen’s Reading Room. It later became a charity.
Camilla said she has loved watching it grow into a community of readers. She hopes the charity and its partners will help adults and children develop a lifelong love of books.
