Queen praises 'life-enhancing power' of books - amid royal row over explosive Earl Spencer memoir claims
Queen Camilla stepped out for a literary festival for her charity, The Queen's Reading Room, at Chatsworth House on Saturday in the midst of mounting controversy surrounding Charles Spencer's claims
The Queen has spoken of the “life-enhancing power” of books, amid the controversy surrounding Earl Spencer’s memoir and allegations about the King’s behaviour in the wake of Diana’s death.
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Camilla received a warm reception when she was greeted at Chatsworth House in Derbyshire for the first day of her charity’s literary festival.
The event was set up for the Queen’s Reading Room, a charity she founded following the success of her Instagram book club during the pandemic.
Saturday marked the fourth festival at the Grade I-listed venue in the Peak District.
Lord William Burlington, chairman of The Chatsworth House Trust, greeted the Queen and described it as “a huge thrill” to collaborate with The Queen’s Reading Room for a second year in a row.
During a speech in the Painted Hall, Camilla said she felt as if coming back to Chatsworth House, which has a library of more than 17,000 books, was “like coming home”.
Read more: Queen 'offered to restore Diana's HRH' title after princess's death, Earl Spencer's memoir claims
She told guests: “I created my Reading Room simply because, like all of us here, I love books and their life-enhancing power and I want to share that love with others.
“In those early days, I had no idea if anybody would be interested but six years on, we are a global community of millions from over 180 countries, swapping recommendations, undertaking research and donating thousands of books to women’s refuges and homeless shelters.”
She added: “There could hardly be a more fitting location for a literary festival than Chatsworth, a house that has inspired and hosted countless authors, including Charles Dickens, Elizabeth Gaskell and William Makepeace Thackeray, among many others.
“Future generations will, no doubt, boast of the day when William Boyd, Elif Shafak, Robert Harris and Kate Mosse were guests here too.”
Camilla’s charity event comes during the ‘war of words’ between Buckingham Palace and Earl Spencer, after he made numerous allegations over the King’s actions following Diana’s death.
The Palace responded with an “unprecedented” response, saying “the pain of fraternal grief can cloud reason”.
Earl Spencer further claimed that the King sounded “giddily elated… like a lottery winner” when he rang the earl following the Princess’s death.
In Spencer’s memoir, A Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, he made the accusation that Charles subjected him to a “stream of anger” after he asserted that his late sister would not have wanted her sons, Princes William and Harry, then aged 15 and 12, to walk in her funeral procession.
During Saturday’s event, the Queen spoke with members of local book clubs at Chatsworth House, including from the Elm Foundation, a charity which provides services and support to adults and children affected by domestic abuse.
Camilla later announced her four book recommendations for autumn – Finding Belle by Reeta Chakrabarti, The Picture Of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, Whistler by Ann Patchett and Sashenka by Simon Sebag Montefiore.
Journalist and news presenter Chakrabarti witnessed the unveiling of the chosen books and told the Queen: “Well, I don’t know what to say. Thank you so much for choosing it, and I’m going to read the others.”
After the Queen's speech in the Painted Hall, she heard readings, including one by actress Natascha McElhone, best known for her parts in The Truman Show, Ronin and Solaris.