Away from the cameras that come part and parcel with being a royal, Queen Camilla has another very important job behind closed doors – being a grandmother to her ten grandchildren.
Camilla's children Tom and Laura, whom she shares with her ex-husband, Andrew Parker-Bowles, are parents to Lola, 18, Freddy, 16, Eliza, 18, Louis and Gus. Meanwhile, she has another five step-grandchildren through her second husband King Charles, whose sons Prince William and Prince Harry have fathered: Prince George, 12, Princess Charlotte, 11, Prince Louis, eight, Prince Archie, seven, and Princess Lilibet, five.
While the 77-year-old tends to separate her private and public life, Camilla made a rare confession about the one thing she hopes to pass down to future generations of her family during a visit to a St Mungo’s accommodation service in South East London on Wednesday.
"The greatest gift in the world [is reading], and I'm doing that with my granddaughter now, reading to her, even though she's only two - but still reading!" Lorraine Kelly said of her granddaughter Billie during a chat with the royal.
Queen Camilla replied: "Get them early, find the time to." The talk show host went on to confess, "I’ve always got a book in my bag", with Her Majesty nodding and replying: "So have I."
© Getty ImagesLorraine later took to Instagram to share a photo and clip of their exchange, writing: "What a joy to meet HM The Queen @stmungos - giving homeless people the opportunity to enjoy reading through @thequeensreadingroom - we talked about our love of books and reading to our children and grandchildren. A class act."
During the St Mungo's visit, Camilla learned how a reading scheme is helping to boost the wellbeing and confidence of those recovering from homelessness, and was told that large donation of books from her charity The Queen’s Reading Room have had a "profound and transformative impact" on people sleeping rough.
© WPA PoolThe Queen's Reading Room partnered with St Mungo’s in 2024 after a colleague started a book group for people supported by the charity. It commissioned a training developer, Opening the Book, to create a ‘Make Room For Reading’ training toolkit to help staff and volunteers learn how to talk about books and reading in an inclusive way and how to use reading to build confidence and to facilitate social connection.
"As passionate believers in the transformative power of reading to make life better, our aim is to increase access to books for those that need it most," said Vicki Perrin, Chief Executive of The Queen’s Reading Room.
"We have therefore been incredibly proud to partner with St Mungo’s as part of this project, and are especially grateful to the colleagues and people supported by St Mungo’s, whose invaluable insights have allowed us to hone our strategy for change even further. We hope to make our proven, adaptable reading programme more widely available to other charitable organisations soon, continuing our commitment to exploring how reading can support wellbeing, confidence and connection for those facing particularly difficult life circumstances."
Close family bond
© Getty ImagesHer Majesty has successfully passed her passion for reading down to her grandkids, after admitting they are "bookworms."
In a video released by BookTrust to mark World Book Day in 2023, she said: "It was just a wonderful way of getting to know them, as you say, bonding. Sitting on the end of their bed and just reading."
She continued: "We took it in turn to find our favourite stories and what's lovely is it's really got them reading. They are bookworms now.
© Getty Images"It's so lovely if I go and see them, I find them tucked up in bed with a book saying: 'Please don't turn off the light, I've got to finish this chapter.'"
The teenagers, who have affectionately nicknamed her 'Gaga', used to love when Charles and Camilla read them stories from the Harry Potter series, complete with impressions!
Speaking to the Daily Mail about their young family members visiting them d in Scotland, she praised her husband's abilities as a storyteller, stating he's "a brilliant mimic" and self-depricatingly adding: "Acting isn't my forte." She added that "they sit spellbound" to listen to the bedtime stories.
When they're not in the same location to enjoy reading together, they can remain in regular communication. "It’s very nice getting a text," she told Vogue. "We learn from very young people and they learn from us, too. That's the way it's always been."
