The Queen has spoken of the ‘urgent’ need to get people to pick up a book as worrying evidence shows global reading rates are at their ‘very lowest’, particularly among children.
Camilla, 78, also vowed that her own literacy charity and online book club, The Queen’s Reading Room, would do everything it could to buck the trend as ‘books do make life better’.
Concerningly, The National Literacy Trust, of which Camilla is patron, reports that just one in three (32.7%) children and young people aged eight to 18 in the UK said they enjoyed reading in 2025 – the lowest level since the question was first asked in 2005.
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.
Unicef also recently found an estimated 70% of 10-year-olds in low and middle income countries globally were unable to read and understand a simple written story, a staggering rise from around 57% in the pre-pandemic era.
Marking the fifth anniversary of her Reading Room, Queen 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.
The Queen has spoken of the ‘urgent’ need to get people to pick up a book as worrying evidence shows global reading rates are at their ‘very lowest’
Camilla, 78, vowed that her own literacy charity and online book club, The Queen’s Reading Room, would do everything it could to buck the trend as ‘books do make life better’. Pictured: The Queen reading to schoolchildren at Griffin Primary School in London in 2021
‘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.’
Her Majesty conceived the idea of The Queen’s Reading Room during the Covid pandemic in 2020 after she decided to share some of her favourite book recommendations.
Her first ideas were ‘literally scribbled on a piece of paper during the first lockdown’ and born by the simple hope she could help spread a little positivity at such a grim time, when many were confined inside the four walls of their home.
Her Reading Room book club officially launched on Instagram in January 2021, serving as a community space for book lovers and featuring interviews with authors, as well as Camilla’s personal recommendations.
It has since attracted more than 186,000 followers in 180 countries around the world and spawned a charity dedicated to promoting literature and literacy, as well as a successful annual literary festival.
The charity has also donated more than 2,300 books to 11 grassroots locations.
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.
Queen Camilla’s charity has donated more than 2,300 books to 11 grassroots locations
Queen Camilla is marking the fifth anniversary of The Queen’s Reading Room charity
Neuroscience research by the organisation shows 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.
Chief executive Vicki Perrin revealed the charity ‘very much’ remained Camilla’s ‘baby’, with the Queen still personally choosing its recommended reading lists.
Ms Perrin said: ‘There’s just been so much that has been achieved and all of it really comes down to the special magic of the Queen’s Reading Room, which is Her Majesty – the fact that she is this person who is so authentically passionate about literature and literacy, and about spreading the joy and love of reading.’
She added: ‘She founded the charity. It’s very much her baby… She still chooses all of the books that are featured on the book club, and is by far the most well-read person I’ve ever had the pleasure to meet.
‘Often, when I go in to see her, the defining image of Her Majesty is in her armchair with piles and piles of books on the side table and on the floor by her feet, and she’s talking about this latest one that she’s read, and she’s got a proof of a new book that’s coming out, and that she’s really enjoying.’
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.
Ms Perrin described current reading levels as a ‘reading crisis’ and said the charity was ‘deeply concerned’ about the falling rates among children.