Queen Camilla was a surprise guest at the third annual The Queen\u2019s Reading Room Festival<\/a> at Chatsworth House on Friday. With the 250th<\/sup> anniversary of Jane Austen\u2019s birthday this year, the locale called back to the famous film adaptation of Pride and Prejudice<\/em>, which was filmed at the estate.<\/p>\n Queen Camilla called back to this special anniversary in her speech, telling those gathered that \u201cIt is a truth universally acknowledged that books make life better.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Among the authors in attendance this year are Jojo Moyes, Dame Jilly Cooper, Helen Fielding, Julia Quinn, Robert Osman and Natasha Brown. Other literary figures and entertainers confirmed to take part include Celia Imrie, Samantha Shannon, Joanna Cannon, Kristin Hannah, Lady Anne Glenconner, Gyles Brandreth, Helen Shaw, and Alan Titchmarsh.<\/p>\n During her visit, Queen Camilla also took part in a panel discussion on the effects of mental health and reading; and donated several books to The Queen\u2019s Reading Room Book Donation box, which was open to the public from 20 September onward.<\/p>\n Queen Camilla continued: \u201c[Books] allow us to see through another\u2019s eyes, they comfort and encourage us, make us laugh, make us cry and free us to travel the globe without stepping outside our front doors. Moreover, scientific research by my Reading Room shows that books have significant benefits for both our brains and our emotions. Our aim is to unlock their transformative power to create a healthier, happier and more connected world \u2013 a world I hope that even Lizzie Bennet would have approved of.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n She also paid a tongue-in-cheek tribute to the BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice<\/em>, evoking the setting, Chatsworth House, which has been thought to have also been Jane Austen\u2019s inspiration for Pemberley.<\/p>\n Commenting on the venue, Queen Camilla said \u201cWho can forget the infamous scene of Mr Darcy emerging from the lake in the BBC version\u2026 Maybe, William<\/em> [Lord William Burlington, chair of the Chatsworth House Trust], you could be persuaded to re-enact this memorable moment in the lake here a little later on\u2014to add to the excitement of the day?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n The Queen also took the time to reminisce about the origins of The Queen\u2019s Reading Room, which started during the pandemic as a way to engage with book lovers online. She called the venture a humble one that launched \u201cin the face of several naysayers\u201d<\/em> as a list of nine of her favourite books that she scribbled onto a notepad before posting it to social media.<\/p>\n In the first list, shared over the Easter holidays in 2020, Queen Camilla\u2014then the Duchess of Cornwall\u2014recommended Restless<\/em> by William Boyd; A Tale of Two Cities<\/em> by Charles Dickens; The Simon Serrailler<\/em> series by Susan Hill; The Secret Commonwealth<\/em> by Philip Pullman; The Cazalet Chronicles<\/em> by Elizabeth Jane Howard; A Gentleman in Moscow<\/em> by Amor Towles; The Red Notebook<\/em> by Antoine Laurain; The Architect\u2019s Apprentice<\/em> by Elif Shafak; and Travels On My Elephant<\/em> by her late brother, Mark Shand.<\/p>\n![\"Queen](\"https:\/\/royalcentral.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Queen-Camilla-views-artifacts-related-to-Jane-Austen-at-The-Queens-Reading-Room-Festival-1024x576.png\")
Jane Austen\u2019s 250th<\/sup> birthday was front and centre of the celebrations<\/a>, and The Queen viewed an exhibit of the author\u2019s works on display from the Jane Austen House and watched a performance of her work by Fiona Shaw and Gill Hornby.<\/h5>\n