Camilla tells of ‘reading renaissance’ during lockdown

The Duchess of Cornwall has hailed a “renaissance of reading” during the coronavirus pandemic once people got over the initial shock of being “locked down, locked up, locked in”.

Camilla said it was a “wonderful opportunity” as she saved up all the books she had wanted to read and set to work on them.

The duchess has launched her own online book club – The Duchess of Cornwall’s Reading Room – to provide inspiration for literature lovers.

In a video released on Instagram, Camilla said that despite “whatever other awful things came out of lockdown”, the nation’s love of reading had flourished with book sales rising.

“I think it’s a sort of renaissance of reading, really,” the duchess said.

“You know, whatever other awful things came out of lockdown I think reading has come out extremely well and I think it’s revived and we just want to keep that going.”

Camilla holds seven patronages related to literature, including the National Literacy Trust, and has presented the prestigious Booker Prize for a number of years.

Her first four choices for her Reading Room are 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.

Camilla added: “Well I think it’s like all of us, lockdown – there we were all locked down, locked up, locked in.

“And, you know, it was a wonderful opportunity to, once you got over the initial shock, you thought, ‘well what can I get out of this?’

“And, you know, reading is a passion, so I just saved up all the books I wanted to read and sat down and read them.

“And I think a lot of other people did as well, because book sales have gone up.”