Queen Camilla demonstrated she’s just like the rest of us today as she made a playful reference to the iconic scene featuring Colin Firth emerging drenched from a lake in the BBC’s Pride and Prejudice.
Playfully teasing her host, William Burlington, she sparked laughter when she quipped: “Maybe, William, you could be persuaded to re-enact this memorable moment in the lake here a little later on – to add to the excitement of the day?”.
Despite battling a husky voice following her diagnosis with acute sinusitis and completing numerous engagements during Donald Trump’s state visit, the Queen appeared thoroughly at ease as she addressed the audience at Chatsworth House in Derbyshire to mark her cherished Reading Room charity launching its third annual festival.
Upon her entrance, Her Majesty was greeted by the festival’s star speakers, including Bridgerton novelist Julia Quinn and Helen Fielding, the creative mind behind the Bridget Jones novels.
She subsequently toured the chapel at Chatsworth and engaged with survivors of domestic violence, alongside volunteers from the Elm Foundation, a regional charity that has recently joined forces with the Queen’s Reading Room to explore the life-changing impact of literature and its ability to provide solace during challenging periods, reports the Express.
As Her Majesty was accompanied by neuroscientist Professor Sam Wass, she was overheard remarking: “There’s nothing like a book to take you away,” she said. “It helps so much with stress. You can shut yourself away with a book; it’s a safe space.”
As an avid, lifelong reader, the Queen established the Reading Room in January 2021.
Suggesting fresh titles each month, the initiative serves, in Queen Camilla’s own words, as “a resource, a reassurance and a refuge to all book lovers”.
This year’s festival marked the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth and featured a special outdoor screening of Pride and Prejudice in the gardens – a touching tribute given that Chatsworth served as Mr Darcy’s Pemberley estate in the film.
Jane Austen fever filled the atmosphere as the Queen proceeded to watch a special performance of the celebrated novelist’s most cherished works by the Chatsworth Players.
This was accompanied by an exclusive glimpse of some of the writer’s artefacts, typically kept at Jane Austen House in Chawton.
The Queen reserved the highlight for the finale as she had the chance to pleasantly surprise thrilled festival attendees whilst they enjoyed a screening of Pride and Prejudice in the enchanting and romantic backdrop of Chatsworth’s gardens.
Following brief conversations with members of the public during a short walkabout, the Queen placed several of her own volumes into a donation point established for the Elm Foundation.
The Queen also commended the digital reach of the Queen’s Reading Room.
It has grown into an online community exceeding 180,000 members, with a yearly readership of 12 million people spanning 183 countries. She continued: “This is our third festival, offering us the opportunity to celebrate the written word, to learn about the outstanding work of local charities and to spend time with our fellow bookworms. I’m delighted that so many of you have joined us this evening at Chatsworth: writers, actors, publishers and readers… in fact, everyone involved in the wonderful world of books. Without you all we would not be here, so thank you.
“And now, ladies and gentlemen, I know that we have plenty of treats in store. I shall therefore stop, in case William feels the need to interrupt me with a sardonic, ‘You have delighted us long enough’.”
