A new photograph of Queen Camilla has been released to celebrate her 79th birthday, coinciding with the launch of a major literacy initiative for children across the United Kingdom.
Birthday Portrait Released
The image, taken in the State Drawing Room of Hillsborough Castle, Northern Ireland, last month, shows Camilla smiling in a blue dress and wearing a diamond and sapphire butterfly brooch. Buckingham Palace confirmed the brooch was presented to the late Queen Elizabeth II at the Birmingham Spring Fair in February 1977.
Christmas Book Initiative
To mark her birthday, the Queen announced that all children in their final year of primary school will receive a special edition of the bestselling book Impossible Creatures by award-winning author Katherine Rundell this Christmas. The Queen's Christmas Present initiative is delivered in partnership with the National Literacy Trust (NLT), of which Camilla is patron, and aims to celebrate the National Year of Reading 2026.
Each book will contain a personal message from the Queen, which reads in part: “Impossible Creatures, by one of my favourite writers, is a brilliant fantasy that will introduce you to a host of mythical friends and terrifying enemies… and I hope that you will love it as much as I do.”
The books will be distributed through schools and libraries, alongside free resources. The NLT will also target hospitals, care settings, refuges, and food banks in disadvantaged communities to ensure all eligible children have access to the book.
Targeting the Age Group Most at Risk
NLT research shows that children's enjoyment of reading declines most steeply as they move from primary to secondary school. The initiative targets children in Year 6 in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, and P6 in Scotland.
Katherine Rundell said: “I'm so immensely honoured that Her Majesty The Queen has chosen Impossible Creatures as her Christmas Gift to every child in Year 6. Her gift is given at the best possible time. This is the National Year of Reading, a celebration and reminder that the things that reading gives us – creative imagination, intellectual freedom, critical thinking, ethical compassion, good jokes, delight in great ideas – must be at the heart of our future and our democracy. This generation of brilliant kids face extraordinary challenges ahead. And books, if we ensure they have access to them, will be their strongest and sharpest tools with which to build a future. I'm thrilled to be part of a project which has at its heart the power of shared stories and shared ideas.”
NLT chief executive Jonathan Douglas said: “Reading unlocks children's imagination, sparks their curiosity and brings unrivalled benefits for their futures. With the invaluable support of our Patron, Her Majesty The Queen, and Katherine Rundell, we are incredibly proud to be celebrating the National Year of Reading by bringing the gift of reading to every year 6 and P6 child in the UK this Christmas – and beyond.”
Queen's Ongoing Literary Work
The Queen's Birthday Present is the latest in a series of literary initiatives by Camilla, who founded the charity The Queen's Reading Room to celebrate the benefits of reading.
