Queen Camilla's surprising passion provides an escape from dealing with King Charles' cancer

Queen Camilla has already paved the way as something of an unconventional consort who is unafraid to champion the most complex causes: domestic violence, gender equality and helping victims of sexual abuse. But, in amongst the darkness of those topics is a light provided by her other passion – reading.

With every joy and heartbreak of the 76-year-old Queen’s life playing out like the storyline of a best-selling novel, it is understandable that her love of books has offered her an escape from the pressures of royal life.

It is this escapist element that former BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond points out has been the Queen's salvation over the years.

"I know what a comfort and relaxation reading can be. In the past few months, Camilla must have needed an escape from the pressures of her husband’s illness and her increased workload… and I’m sure that her love of books has been a wonderful distraction."

Jennie continued: "She must also feel quite chuffed that research has now proved exactly what she’s been telling us: that reading is beneficial to both our mental and physical health.

"I love to think of Charles and Camilla sitting quietly in a cosy room together, not talking but just reading, even if the King is more likely to be studying his work notes.

"She is delightfully down to earth about her literary taste, happy to admit she loves a good crime thriller or a page turner just like the rest of us. It makes her very relatable."

As The Queen’s Reading Room Festival returned to London with a bang for its second year, literary fans were in for a treat as a glittering line-up of authors and actors descended on Hampton Court Palace to celebrate the reach and influence of the written word.

The festival, which was attended by the Queen, sold an incredible 10,000 tickets and was a day filled with unique performances, talks by some of the UK’s leading authors and a wonderful finale involving Miriam Margoyles and Gyles Brandreth celebrating the life and work of Charles Dickens, as Queen Camilla, her son Tom Parker-Bowles and other members of the Royal Family watched on.

It was a joyous event, and one which Camilla had taken a huge hand in organising, as CEO of the Queen’s Reading Room charity, Vicki Perrin, exclusively told OK!

“Whenever we meet to talk about what's next for the Queen's Reading Room, the level of detail and the passion that the Queen brings to it is impressive. You can really tell that this is her baby and that she cares so much about it.

“In the lead up to the festival she was asking me how many tickets have been sold and it just shows that she's completely committed to this, which is a mark of what an incredible defender of the arts she is.”

Proving that the Queen is thoroughly in touch with every element of the charity’s work, Vicki adds, “We live in a world where last year half the UK adult population didn't read a single book in 12 months.

"And yet at the same time, we have 60 percent of people say that their screen time is making them unhappy, and that’s something the Queen is aware of. She is doing such a fantastic thing gathering the right authors and ambassadors to get together to try and create a reading revolution.”

This praise for the Queen’s initiative is echoed by award-winning American author, Harlan Coben. “I think what Queen Camilla has done here is really interesting because she also had the idea of tying it into science,” Harlan exclusively told OK!.

“The studies have proven that reading is good for you. It reduces stress, increases apathy and improves your mental health. And, as you walk around the festival, everyone's smiling, everyone's happy. There's no controversy here. Nothing polemic. It’s just a great day for the arts.”

The charity – previously known as The Duchess of Cornwall’s Reading Room – has grown rapidly since its launch in January 2021 and the initiative is, in the Queen’s own words, “a resource, a reassurance and a refuge to all book lovers”.

And, after a difficult and worrying few months for the Queen, Vicki explains how picking up a book has always been an immense source of comfort to her.

“To escape into a book is to escape into another world and to be comforted to sometimes find that the author has put into words a feeling that you've never quite been able to express.

"The Queen has found, throughout her life, such wonderful solace in reading and I think people will respond to her love of books because they also experience the same.”

The Queen herself has reflected on the comfort reading provides through challenging times. She said, “If you learn to read, however difficult your life is at the time, you can pick up a book and you can escape. You can laugh, you can cry, it just takes you out of the real world and it gives you a different dimension to life.”

Looking back at the charity’s growth over the last year – which included the launch of their successful podcast – Vicki admits that the Queen never ceases to amaze her.

“Throughout this role, what I've experienced is just continual astonishment at the breadth of the books and the genres that the Queen reads,” Vicki says. “She is hands down the most well read woman I've ever met – she reads crime thrillers, but then she enjoys anything on the classics and rom coms and thrillers – she’s an absolute every woman.”

Just like the King, who is a huge advocate for the arts, the Queen’s efforts to promote literature and preserve it for future generations is inspiring. “We're so incredibly lucky to have a King and a Queen who care so deeply who are taking care to inform themselves about the state of the arts in the UK,” Vicki praises.

“What the Queen is doing with the charity is not just about trying to create a new generation of readers, but to try and get us all reading again and experiencing the real joy of books and, frankly, the just extraordinary benefit that all of us can get from reading.”

This role in the arts may have been etched into Queen Camilla’s destiny, according to Tracy Borman, Joint Chief Curator at Historic Royal Palaces.

“Traditionally the monarch or their spouse has a role as patron of the arts. But it varies according to their interests as to how active they are,” Tracy told OK!.

“It doesn't always happen that you get somebody as proactive as the current Queen – Elizabeth II, for example, wasn’t hugely interested in the arts as she had other passions – but this is something that Queen Camilla does very well.”

Taking to the stage on the day of the festival was the cast of the award-winning West End musical, Operation Mincemeat. Also performing were the likes of novelists Ian Rankin, Lee Child and Kate Mosse who spoke about their work and divulged some of their most valuable tips for writing a bestseller.

As always, the British weather was unpredictable, but that didn’t stop the actress Helena Bonham Carter leaving fans spellbound as she joined other readers in an intimate performance in the Poetry Pharmacy – an intimate performance of poetry to “cure any ailment”.

The day ended in spectacular fashion as Miriam Margoyles took to the main stage in one of the Palace’s atmospheric Tudor courtyards to deliver Dickens-themed readings alongside other stars including Miranda actress Patricia Hodge, Tipping The Velvet’s Rachael Stirling, Doctor Who’s Karl Collins, and Game of Thrones’ Julian Glover.

There were roars of laughter as Miriam expertly brought the Oliver Twist characters of Mr Bumble and Mrs Corney alive, before switching effortlessly to take on the reclusive and cruel persona of Miss Havisham from Great Expectations.