A new image revealing a glimpse of the Queen’s life inside her Wiltshire home has been published as she campaigns to get more people reading.
The Queen has described her charity’s mission to get people reading as “more urgent than ever”, saying “books do make life better” as she marked the fifth anniversary of her Reading Room book club.
The announcement comes as Camilla is pictured at her Wiltshire property, reading on the steps of her garden in a rare glimpse inside her home. The image was snapped by royal photographer Chris Jackson in July, 2025.
Her Royal Highness, who founded The Queen’s Reading Room in lockdown, has spoken of her pride at what the charity has achieved, reaching a community of more than 186,000 book lovers in more than 180 countries, as she celebrated its milestone year.
But the King’s consort warned that, with global reading rates at their “very lowest, my charity’s mission feels more urgent than ever”.
Currently, only one in two UK adults reads a book in a year, and 46% of people say they struggle to finish one due to distractions around them.
The Queen’s Reading Room’s motto for its birthday year is “Make Room for Reading”, with a drive to encourage people to find easy ways to fit in just five minutes of reading a day, just like 10,000 daily steps or five portions of fruit and vegetables.
The charity will also focus on “lighting little fires” by inspiring others to make small positive changes.
Neuroscience research by the organisation showed that just five minutes reading a work of fiction can immediately reduce stress by nearly 20%, improve concentration and focus by as much as 11%, and reduce feelings of loneliness.
Globally, Unicef found an estimated 70% of 10-year-olds in low and middle income countries around the world were unable to read and understand a simple written story in 2022, up from around 57% in the pre-pandemic, when progress had already stalled.
Camilla said: “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.
“I am so proud of what my charity has achieved, reaching millions of people, staging remarkable events and partnering with incredible organisations 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.”
The Queen has personally recommended 76 books over the past five years, with the initiative beginning with Dame Hilary Mantel’s The Mirror And The Light, William Boyd’s Restless, Where The Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens and The Architect’s Apprentice by Elif Shafak.
Among Camilla’s most popular recommendations with the book club’s readers so far have been: Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz; Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell; Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo; Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier; and Jane Austen’s Pride And Prejudice, the charity revealed.
Share