Welcome to the Reading Room
Join Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cornwall in The Reading Room; discover new books each season and meet the extraordinary people who create them
Commonwealth Interlude
Embark on a journey around the world to celebrate literature from the Commonwealth
Commonwealth – Pacific
Authors
Watch
Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition 2020
Voices From The Blue World, by Senior Winner Aditya Choudhury (Singapore) – Read by Stephen Fry
Watch
Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition 2020
The Waters Rise, by Senior Runner-up Ananya Mukerji (India) – Read by Kareena Kapoor
Watch
Tahmima Anam
A Golden Age
Watch
Zehra Nigah
Right Here Was The Ocean
Commonwealth – Asia
Authors
Commonwealth – Asia
Authors
Watch
Book Aid International
Where The Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
Watch
David Rubadiri
An African Thunderstorm
Watch
The Commonwealth Poetry Podcast, Episode 2 Rwanda
Melody Ingabire
Watch
Damon Galgut
The Promise
Watch
Abdulrazak Gurnah
Paradise
Watch
Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition 2020
The Little Prince Comes Back To Earth, by Junior Runner Up Eleni Bazikamwe (Ghana) – Read by David Walliams
Her Majesty The Queen
Uganda, 1954
‘Tread Lightly’ by Emma-Kate Lewis
Short Story
Watch
John Cremona
Children Playing
©
Her Majesty The Queen
Malta, 1967
Watch
The Commonwealth Poetry Podcast, Episode 1 The United Kingdom
On Poets And Poetry
Watch
The Commonwealth Poetry Podcast, Episode 1 The United Kingdom
John Betjeman, The Subaltern’s Love Song
Watch
The Commonwealth Poetry Podcast, Episode 1 The United Kingdom
Christina Rossetti, Echo
Watch
The Commonwealth Poetry Podcast, Episode 1 The United Kingdom
W H Auden, The Night Mail
©
Her Majesty The Queen – then Princess Elizabeth – reading
Natal National Park, South Africa, 1947
©
Her Majesty The Queen – then Princess Elizabeth – reading
Windsor Castle, 1940
Watch
Michael Morpurgo
On The Queen’s Reign
Watch
Michael Morpurgo
There Once Is A Queen
©
Her Majesty The Queen – then Princess Elizabeth – reading
Windsor Castle, 1940
Season 6
Join us as we explore ‘The Kite Runner’ by Khaled Hosseini, ‘Suite Française’ by Irène Némirovsky, ‘The Paper Palace’ by Miranda Cowley Heller, and ‘Atonement’ by Ian McEwan
Ian McEwan
Atonement
Ian McEwan
From Atonement
Watch
On Ideas and Inspiration
Interview With Ian McEwan
The Typewriter
Robbie’s Letter To Cecilia
Watch
On The Writing Process
Interview With Ian McEwan
©
Nurses Training At The Queen’s Institute Of District Nursing
Guildford, Surrey, 1944
Dunkirk
The Tape Of Ian McEwan’s Father’s Story
Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
Inspiration For Atonement
The Go Between by L P Hartley
Inspiration For Atonement
©
An Iconic Cover
Atonement
©
An Iconic Cover
Atonement
©
An Iconic Cover
Atonement
Ian McEwan
From Atonement
Miranda Cowley Heller
The Paper Palace
The Pond
From Miranda Cowley Heller
Watch
Miranda Cowley Heller Reads The Paper Palace
Book Extract
Summer In Cape Cod
From Miranda Cowley Heller
Watch
On How Personal Life Influenced The Paper Palace
Interview With Miranda Cowley Heller
Miranda Cowley Heller’s Mother And Sister
From Miranda Cowley Heller
Watch
On Her Sisters As An Inspiration
Interview With Miranda Cowley Heller
Watch
Miranda Cowley Heller Reads The Paper Palace
Book Extract
Miranda Cowley Heller’s Step-Father, Paul Resika – Painter
From Miranda Cowley Heller
The Beach
From Miranda Cowley Heller
Still Life By Miranda Cowley Heller
From Miranda Cowley Heller
Hummingbird
Inspiration
The Beach Path
An Ambiguous Ending
Irène Némirovsky
Suite Française
©
Travel Permit
1939
©
Suitcase
Where Suite Française was found
Watch
Harriet Walter reads Suite Française
Book Extract
Denis Epstein
Daughter of Irène Némirovsky
Nazi Occupation Of Paris
1940
Watch
Harriet Walter reads Suite Française
Book Extract
Michelle Williams as Lucille Angellier
Suite Française
Boy Soldier
Inspiration for Hubert Péricand
Kristin Scott Thomas as Madame Péricand
Suite Française
David Golder
By Irène Némirovsky
©
Suite Française
Manuscript
©
Telegram
By Michel Epstein
Khaled Hosseini
The Kite Runner
Khaled Hosseini
Author of ‘The Kite Runner’
King Zahir
Shah of Afghanistan
Kite Running
Afghanistan
Watch
Ferozkoh Kite Festival
Turquoise Mountain
Watch
Reading The Kite Runner
Book Extract
Khaled Hosseini
From The Kite Runner
Watch
Reading The Kite Runner
Book Extract
Turquoise Mountain
Supporting craftsmanship, education and health
Watch
The Kite Runner
Adaptations
Podcast
The Commonwealth Poetry Podcast with Gyles and Aphra Brandreth and guests HRH The Duchess of Cornwall and Joanna Lumley
Read more
Conversations with HRH The Duchess of Cornwall
Join HRH in The Reading Room as she discusses all things books and meets some of her favourite authors
Watch
In Conversation with HRH
An introduction to The Reading Room
Watch
HRH & Edna O’Brien
In Conversation: On writing ‘Girl’
©
Watch
In Conversation with HRH
The Camilla Club
Watch
HRH & Edna O’Brien
In Conversation: On Writing ‘The Country Girls’
Watch
In Conversation with HRH
Who inspired HRH’s love of books?
Watch
In Conversation with HRH
Books Unlocked
Watch
HRH & Peter James
In Conversation: On Roy Grace
Watch
In Conversation with HRH
HRH’s hopes for The Reading Room
Watch
HRH & Peter James
In Conversation: On writing crime
Watch
In Conversation with HRH
Why should we read to children?
Treasures from the Library
HRH explores precious books and manuscripts from prestigious UK libraries
Find your next book
Explore this selection of brilliant titles, as chosen by Her Royal Highness for The Reading Room.
The Little Library Cookbook
By Kate Young
Publish Date: 2017
Drawing from her favourite works of fiction, Kate Young has compiled over 100 mouthwatering recipes for all meals, from breakfast to dessert. Inspired by classics such as Paddington Bear, The Great Gatsby, The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe, and…
A Half Baked Idea
By Olivia Potts
Publish Date: 2019 Awards: 2020 Debut Food Book of the Year – Fortnum & Mason Food and Drink Awards
Profoundly hit by the death of her mother, Olivia decides, afer five years practicing law as a criminal barrister, to abandon her career and enroll in the prestigious Le Cordon Bleu culinary arts institute. Coping with grief and loss, Olivia…
A Book Of Food
By P Morton Shand
Publish Date: 1927
The book is not conceived as a cookery book, but rather an exploration of gastronomy, culinary practices, facts and information about food and cooking. A fascinating journey from flavours to the influences of the Industrial Revolution on English cuisine, to…
Friends of The Reading Room Recommend
Discover more reading recommendations from authors and lovers of literature
HRH The Prince of Wales
Delia Owens
Kazuo Ishiguro
William Boyd
Pick of the week
Swann In Love
A narrative section of Swann’s Way, the first volume in Proust’s monumental novel In Search of Lost Time, Swann in Love is essentially self-contained and has for this reason often been published independently as a novella. In it, the narrator tells the story of the love affair between Charles Swann and Odette.
Read more
Book Club Kits
Have you introduced your book club to The Reading Room?
Download our book club kits for conversation starters…
which may turn into bookish debate!
Children’s Books
Explore this selection of brilliant titles, as chosen by Her Royal Highness for The Reading Room.
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Charlie Mackesy’s
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Peter James’
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Victoria Hislop’s
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Susan Hill’s
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Antoine Laurain’s
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Edna O’Brien’s
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Elif Shafak’s
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