Queen joins Brigitte Macron to celebrate cross-Channel literary talent
The Queen has joined Brigitte Macron to celebrate cross-Channel literary talent as she continues her recovery from illness.
The 77 year-old, who revealed to Buckingham Palace guests on Tuesday that her recent “chest infection” had in fact been pneumonia, teamed up with Madame Macron for the Entente Litteraire Prize ceremony.
The two appeared at the French ambassador’s residence in London on Wednesday to award prizes to authors and translators whose work appears in French and English.
Two prizes of €8,000 (£6,625) were awarded: one for a book originally written in French and translated into English, and the other written in English and translated into French. The money was split equally between the writer and translator of each book.
Both the Queen and Madame Macron have a personal interest in literature and literacy, with the event aiming to shine a light on “Franco-British literary talent”.
The women have spent time together in France on several occasions in the last few years, including playing table tennis in Paris during the King and Queen’s state visit and raising a toast at a glamorous banquet at the Palace of Versailles.
During the visit in 2023, they jointly launched the Entente Litteraire Prize at the Bibliotheque Nationale de France, recognising Young Adult fiction to “allow UK and French citizens to share joint literary experiences, reinforcing cultural ties whilst celebrating the joys of reading”.
The first ceremony this year takes place on the 120th anniversary of the signing of the Entente Cordiale agreements.
As they met, the Queen shared a double kiss with Madame Macron and greeted her with a “bonjour”.
She also praised the First Lady’s English as “far better than my French” – and later told attendees she had forgotten much of the language.
The duo spent 15 minutes talking privately and swapping books just before the event got under way. The Queen gave four of her recommended reads to Madame Macron, and received a book about Notre Dame in return.
Guests at the reception included authors Peter James, Anthony Horowitz, Elif Shafak, Edward St Aubyn and Edmund de Waal, as well as illustrator Axel Scheffler.
The Queen seemed particularly pleased to see Joanne Harris, recognising her name immediately as the author of the bestselling novel Chocolat, which she described as “one of my favourite books”.
After asking what Ms Harris was writing now, she added: “I will have to book myself in for a copy.”
The Queen told other authors about her preference for a “proper book” over electronic versions, adding: “I like a proper page to turn.”
She wore a grey and black tweed dress and jacket by Dior – in a show of what has become known as diplomatic dressing.
The Queen, who is a keen reader and has her own book club, The Queen’s Reading Room, told Peter James she had read his latest novel in two days and “couldn’t put it down”.
The Queen and Madame Macron also presented certificates to the winners of the prize.
The Queen was seen nodding in agreement during a speech by Ms Harris, president of the judging panel, who said: “Many people who are great fans of literacy are not great fans of Young Adult fiction and let’s hope some of that changes.
“This is a diet that we give to our young people to encourage them to be readers in later life. That’s why it’s so very important.”
The Queen also met students from the Lycee International Winston Churchill and Europa School, while the French ambassador delivered a short speech and a British school student read an extract from the first winning novel.
The pair were last photographed together in Normandy, when footage of them at a memorial for the 80th anniversary of D-Day showed a seemingly awkward moment where Madame Macron reached for the Queen’s hand – only for her to shift slightly away.
However, they have otherwise seemed to have had a warm relationship and a shared interest in reading.
