The King turned out in support of Queen Camilla as she launched a special new medal on Tuesday. Her Majesty hosted a Reception for authors, members of the literary community and representatives from The Queen’s Reading Room at Clarence House to celebrate the launch of the Queen's Reading Room Medal. The award is designed to recognise individuals who are championing books and storytelling in their local communities. Other attendees included Richard E. Grant, Miriam Margoyles and Dame Joanna Lumley. Report by Kennedyl. Like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/itn and follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/itn
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Why is nobody clapping for the Pope?
00:30Your Majesty, Your Royal Highness, ladies and gentlemen, it's a huge pleasure to welcome
00:47you to Clarence House this evening to mark the fourth anniversary of my Reading Room
00:53and to thank you all for supporting our work. Now, those of you who follow my Reading Room
01:00on Instagram, which I hope is all of you, will have seen that my most recent recommendation
01:11is Jane Austen's first anonymously published novel, Sense and Sensibility. Interestingly,
01:20one of the first people to buy her book was Sir Future King George IV, who paid 15 shillings
01:26for it two days before it was publicly advertised. He liked it so much that two years later he
01:34bought a second copy. I have here the original receipt from his first purchase and his 1813
01:43edition of the novel, which you are all welcome to look at later. This year, of course, is
01:50the 250th anniversary of Jane's birth. Her voice and characters remain as fresh, witty
01:59and true to life as ever. Who among us has not encountered the pomposity of a Mr Collins,
02:08the dastardly attractiveness of a Willoughby, or the gossiping meddling of an Emma? Another
02:18admirer of Jane's was my husband's great-great-great-grandmother, Queen Victoria, who found her books admirably
02:26written, interesting and entertaining. I think all of us here would at the very least describe
02:34your books, poems and plays as admirably written, interesting and entertaining, and
02:42we might even go as far as to be much amused by them. Anyway, we are greatly in their debt.
02:51After all, the magic of storytelling lies in the ability to make a community of anyone
02:59who loves to read and who is compelled to write. Through literature we experience life
03:07through another's eyes. We are comforted, strengthened, we laugh, we cry, we travel
03:14to different lands and we escape the real world. In short, books and those who create
03:22them make life better, much better, so thank you.
03:29Making life better is the ultimate aim of my reading room. We believe that books make
03:35for a happier, healthier and more connected society. We know from our scientific research
03:43that reading brings invaluable benefits to brain and mental health, and we see first-hand
03:50the impact stories have on how we understand and articulate the world both as we find it
03:58and as we dream it to be.
04:03As we shall hear in a minute from Vicky, we are putting our efforts as a charity into
04:09leveraging the unique power of books to help rebuild lives, and are committed to taking
04:15them into places where they are so badly needed and often so sadly absent.
04:24From its humble beginnings, admit the voices of quite a few naysayers, my reading room
04:30now reaches over 12 million people in 173 countries each year, with nearly 20,000 visitors
04:44to our festivals to date. It is because of the gift of writers like you, and because
04:52of the passion of every person in this room for promoting literacy and a love of literature,
04:59that we have been able to build such a family of readers. Long may we continue to be inspired
05:06by you all.
05:08Now, if I dare end with a piece of literary advice, I shall leave you with one final quote
05:15from Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility.
05:18If a book is well written, I always find it too short.
05:37Thank you very much.
06:07Thank you very much.
06:37Thank you very much.
07:07I think that's a good thing.
07:09Mostly because it's down to the sewage line.
07:12I think that's taking it too far, isn't it?
07:15I think that's a good thing.
07:17I think it's a good thing.
07:19I think it's a good thing.
07:21I think it's a good thing.
07:23I think it's a good thing.
07:27Absolutely.
07:29Fairway is for libraries and I think that's a good thing.
07:31Another charge.
07:33You should be all-
07:39I rarely go down that far.
07:43Don't worry.
07:57How long?
08:01I'm very nervous.
08:05Hello, it's not me.
08:08I know, I was just here the night before.
08:10I was here the night before.
08:13I'm sorry.
08:14I can't hear you.
08:16Go for it.
08:17I'm really nervous.
08:20I've been one or two meetings with my...
08:22I've been one or two meetings with my...
08:25I'm really nervous.
08:26I'm really nervous.
08:27I'm nervous.
08:28I'm nervous.
08:29I'm nervous.