Queen Camilla has announced a new BBC documentary exploring her love of literature, inherited from her late father Major Bruce Shand, and the transformative power of books. The announcement was made at a Clarence House reception celebrating the fifth anniversary of her Queen’s Reading Room book club, attended by King Charles III and Hollywood stars including Stanley Tucci, Sigourney Weaver, and Booker Prize-winning novelist Sir Ben Okri.
The inaugural Queen’s Reading Room medals were awarded: Selina Brown won the national prize for transforming lives through black British literature, and Liz Waterland received the local award for services to literature in Lincolnshire. In her speech, Camilla described how her literary project began during lockdown to share her “lifelong conviction that books make life better”, and has since expanded into a festival, donated thousands of books, and partnered with organisations combating domestic violence and homelessness.
The documentary, produced with the BBC and Blink Films, will feature Camilla reflecting on her passion for reading, childhood memories, and the comfort she finds in books. She will recount her father’s experience as a prisoner of war in Germany, where reading reinforced his lifelong love of the written word. Major Shand served in the Second World War, was twice awarded the Military Cross, and was wounded and captured in North Africa.
In a Spectator article, Camilla recalled: “He read to us as children. He chose the books, and we listened. He was probably the best-read man I’ve come across anywhere. He devoured books.” The documentary, due in autumn, will also feature others with a passion for literature.
Among the guests at the reception were authors Jojo Moyes, Richard Osman, and Jeffrey Archer, as well as actor Sir Derek Jacobi. Sigourney Weaver praised the Queen’s encouragement of reading, noting a “shocking” statistic that only 50% of UK adults read a book a year. Selina Brown, founder of the Black British Book Festival, said: “I started the book festival from my savings, with no blueprint. I literally love books and I really want to give black British authors a platform.”
