Queen Camilla loves a book. Almost any book will do. ‘There’s something so tactile about a book,’ she says. ‘I like the smell of the pages when you open the cover. I like turning the pages and folding down a corner ready for next time…’

The Queen, 78, has loved books for as long as she can remember. She says her father, Bruce Shand, inspired this lifelong passion: ‘He read to us as children. He chose the books, and we listened. He was probably the best-read man I’ve come across anywhere. He devoured books.’

Most popular

Madeline Grant

Keir Starmer is not waving but drowning at PMQs

Ross Clark

The special needs racket is out of control

Tom Slater

The celebrity ECHR letter is pious posturing

Bruce Shand was a soldier. His father was a writer, about architecture, food and wine. Hi

See Full Page