Reading is one of Queen Camilla’s favourite hobbies but it turns out she’s also not opposed to seeing a much-loved book adapted for the small screen. ITV’s popular detective drama, Grace, is now in its sixth season and is based on Peter James’s best-selling Detective Superintendent Grace series.
Richie Campbell, who plays DS Glenn Branson, spoke to the media ahead of the show’s return to ITV and revealed, “Queen Camilla’s a huge fan of the show.”
While the image of a figure as refined as the Queen watching something so dark and gritty might be incongruous to some, for those with close knowledge of Her Majesty and the connections between her and the author, Peter James, it’s not surprising at all.
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For a start, Queen Camilla has long been a vocal supporter of the original book series, upon which the ITV show is based. Peter James’ Grace books follow Detective Superintendent Roy Grace as he solves a slew of complex cases in Brighton and Hove, all while haunted by the disappearance of his own wife.
In 2021, Her Majesty met with the author when they were filming the series, where she reportedly told him, “I love your books. I’ve read them all, cover to cover.”
The best-selling author, who has written over 30 novels, previously told the BBC he first found out she was a fan of his work following an interview with the Daily Mirror, where she was photographed with two of his books on display. Peter then immediately wrote to the Queen to thank her – and this is how she not only helped inspire a new novel, but landed herself a minor role!
“She wrote to me and asked when will a novel be set in London”, he explained.
The world of royals and palaces was a key element in his latest Grace book, The Hawk is Dead, released in October 2025. James declared, “I was aware that there was chaos in the palace due to renovations, and when I heard art was being moved, I saw an opportunity. I drafted a few lines and sent it to the palace, but the Queen loved it. It got signed off by Buckingham Palace communications.”
In the book, DSU Grace travels from East Sussex to London in the royal train, which derails, and Queen Camilla is characterised in the story helping passengers onboard.
Peter also added that after he had written to the Queen about the story, he was given a three-and-a-half-hour tour around Buckingham Palace.
The connections between the two don’t stop there. Peter James’s mother, Cornelia James, is the founder of Cornelia James, which held a Royal Warrant as the glove makers for Queen Elizabeth II from 1979 up until her death in 2022.
Even before being selected “by royal appointment” to create Her Majesty’s gloves, in 1947, when the then-Princess Elizabeth was married to Prince Philip, Cornelia James was asked by royal couturier, Norman Hartnell, to make gloves to accessorise the outfit she would wear when going away on their honeymoon.
Peter James’s sister, Genevieve James Lawson, continues to run Cornelia James today, and the Princess of Wales has often been seen carrying on the tradition of wearing gloves made by the brand.
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