Camilla set to launch ‘ Insta’ reading room
THE Duchess of Cornwall is opening a book discussion group on Instagram to inspire people to take up reading.
Camilla will join celebrities such as Richard and Judy in recommending good reads, buoyed by the reaction to reading lists she put out last year and by a rise in book sales.
The Duchess of Cornwall’s Reading Room aims to be a hub for people of all ages and abilities, with a focus on writers from the Commonwealth – opening with four of her winter choices on January 15.
Each comes with a reading list, photo diary and video from the author. There will be a fresh selection every season and Camilla’s aides are to coordinate her choices with publishers to ensure titles are easily available. The forum might be a commercial boon for chosen authors – in the US, books in Oprah Winfrey’s TV club sold 55 million copies in 15 years; Richard and Judy’s choices sold an average 250,000 copies.
It is not a commercial enterprise for Camilla, 73, but aides say it is about encouraging a love of reading, which “promotes a wide range of emotional, social and educational benefits”, said a spokesman. With a new portrait of Camilla by photographer Hugo Burnand, she launches the forum today on Instagram @DuchessOfCornwallsReadingRoom.
In a video chat she asks Charlie Mackesy – author of The Boy, The Mole, The Fox And The Horse, which sold 1.4 million copies – “Had you any idea quite what a success your book was going to be? I adore it.”
He had written offering early support to her project, ending his letter “Love, Charlie x”.