It was a global pandemic. Many of us were navigating on-again, off-again lockdowns. It was a stressful time. But Queen Camilla (then the Duchess of Cornwall) turned lemons into lemonade, using the downtime to launch The Queen’s Reading Room, which started out as just an Instagram-based book club, in January 2021. Five years later, she’s toasting a major milestone: Her project’s evolution from passion project into a full-blown charity.
Royal Fam Celebrates Major Milestone with Stunning Photo of Queen Camilla Alone in a Garden
#TBT to the pandemic
Published Jan 10, 2026
•2:00pm
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In a post on Instagram, complete with a new pic, Her Majesty touted her pandemic initiative’s runaway success. She wrote: “Five years ago, I founded a book club in lockdown, in the hope that others might derive as much enjoyment from good literature as I do. Since those humble beginnings, that book club has grown into a global charity, supporting a community of book lovers, united by a shared belief in the power of reading.”
She continues: “I am so proud of what my charity has achieved, reaching millions of people, staging remarkable events and partnering with incredible organizations to bring books to people who need them most. Its groundbreaking research has confirmed what many of us always felt: reading truly changes how we perceive, how we think and how we connect. At a time when global reading rates are at their very lowest, my charity’s mission feels more urgent than ever. Books do make life better - and this is only the beginning.” Here, here.
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Chris Jackson, the royal photographer who snapped the new pic of the queen, shed some additional light on its setting in his own Instagram post. “The queen is pictured here in my picture released today lost in a book in Wiltshire,” he wrote in his caption. (We’re assuming the location to be Ray Mill House, a private residence long held by Camilla and a bit of a santuary for Her Majesty, too.)
As far as royal milestones go, this is certainly one the queen should feel proud of. In the years since the 2021 launch, she’s welcomed world-renowned authors and introduced a whopping 76 beloved books to new audiences along the way. Even King Charles and Kate Middleton have contributed book recommendations. It’s certainly a defining piece of her reign.
So, what next? The literary fest is set to return this year with the addition of the brand-new Queen’s Reading Room Medal to be presented to local unsung heroes who champion reading, according to Hello!. Five years and counting—something tells us Camilla’s only just ramping up.
