Queen Camilla has spoken about her father, Major Bruce Shand, being shot in the face during the Second World War, describing him as "incredibly lucky" to have survived. She made the remarks during an appearance on the BBC Arts programme The Book That Changed My Life, which is due to air next week.
Father's wartime ordeal
In the programme, the Queen recalls her father's time confined in a German prisoner of war camp, where his passion for literature became a vital source of comfort and survival. She explained: "A sniper shot him through his face, he was incredibly lucky because the bullet went in one side, out the other, didn't touch his tongue or his teeth."
Major Shand saw action during the Second World War as a 12th Lancer, battled alongside the Desert Rats, was awarded the Military Cross on two occasions, and suffered injuries before being captured while serving in North Africa. The Queen added: "He was taken to a prisoner of war camp and incarcerated for two and a half years. Those places, there's not much to do unless you're plotting your escape. So he said he educated himself because he read every single book, from the bible to the encyclopaedia, whatever was there, he just sat all day long and read, read, read, and that's, I think, how he survived it."
Royal reading habits
The Queen describes reading as "like the best tonic in the world". She reveals: "My husband and I actually read before dinner, we just like sitting quietly and reading." According to the Queen, the King is fond of biographies, noting: "I occasionally, when I'm deep in a book, hear him roaring with laughter about something. It's very off-putting. I can't get back into my book." She continues, saying "it's a lovely quiet time" and "I think it would be a complete and utter tragedy if books went forever".
Camilla explains to the documentary how her passion for reading developed. She notes: "I left school quite young... so I think reading has been most of my education." She added: "We must've been very, very young when my father started reading to us. I think that's where my love of reading came from. We were transported into all sorts of other worlds. I don't think our childhood would've been the same if we hadn't had books."
Programme details
The documentary follows the Queen as she examines the life-changing impact of literature, speaking with four individuals whose existences have been transformed through books. In the programme, Camilla meets a former prisoner, an HGV driver, a man who fell into a depression, and a roadside cafe owner for what she called "one of the most unusual book club meetings I have ever attended" in a message delivered to a press preview.
Camilla expressed that it is her "fondest hope that this film will build on that work, helping demonstrate to audiences around the world just what a difference reading has made to one particular group of people, each of whom has faced challenge or difficulty in their personal lives, and each of whom has been lifted up by the sheer joy and transformative power of reading". The Book That Changed My Life will broadcast on BBC Two and iPlayer on 14th October.
