King and Queen host reception to unveil national reading medal
The Queen has launched a new national honour to recognise the UK's 'reading heroes', celebrating individuals who champion books.
At a star-studded reception hosted at Clarence House on Tuesday, Camilla unveiled the Queen's Reading Room Medal, which will be awarded annually to people who support storytelling in their local communities.
The event marked the fourth anniversary of the Queen's Reading Room, a charity she founded following the success of her Instagram book club during the pandemic.
It has since grown into a global hub for reading advocacy, with a podcast, research initiatives, and an annual literary festival drawing tens of thousands of visitors.
Welcoming authors, actors and literary figures, the Queen addressed guests alongside the King, who stood beside her during her speech.
'Your Majesty, Your Royal Highness, ladies and gentlemen – it is a huge pleasure to welcome you all to Clarence House,' she said.
'Making life better is the ultimate aim of my Reading Room. We believe that books make for a happier, healthier and more connected society.'
She added: 'Through literature, we experience life through another's eyes – we are comforted, strengthened, we laugh, we cry, we travel to different lands, and we escape the real world.
'In short, books, and those who create them, make life much better – so thank you.'
The medal, which opens for nominations on April 1, 2025, will be awarded for the first time in March 2026.
Anyone over 18 can nominate themselves or others, and a judging panel made up of leading figures in publishing has been assembled to choose the inaugural winners, organisers said.
Nominees will include people who have set up community reading groups, improved access to local libraries, donated books to those in need, or organised local literary festivals.
Guests at the Clarence House reception included authors Anthony Horowitz, Kate Atkinson, Peter James, Donna Tartt and Ann Cleeves.
Also in attendance were actors Dame Joanna Lumley, Sigourney Weaver, Adjoa Andoh and Richard E Grant.
There was also a display marking the 250th anniversary of the birth of Jane Austen, featuring rare items from Austen's House and the Royal Collection Trust.
The Queen said her current Reading Room recommendation was Sense And Sensibility, Austen's first, anonymously published novel.
She said: 'One of the first people to buy her book was the future King George IV, who paid 15 shillings for it two days before it was publicly advertised.
'He liked it so much that, two years later, he bought a second copy.
'Her voice and characters remain as fresh, witty and true to life as ever.
'Who among us has not encountered the pomposity of a Mr Collins, the dastardly attractiveness of a Willoughby, or the gossipy meddling of an Emma?'
Dame Joanna praised the Queen's literacy campaign, saying: 'The Queen's Reading Room is one of the great foundations that Her Majesty has set forth.
'It is hugely important.
'When you read a book it is completely free – the characters are of your own imagination, so they can be as beautiful or fat or thin, pale or dark or extraordinary as your mind takes them.
'I never go to bed without reading, I never spend a day without reading, I never travel without a book in my pocket.
'Particularly as we move into an age where we're going to have to start taking mobile phones off children.'
Fellow actor Miriam Margolyes described the Queen as 'real class' for championing literature, adding: 'Reading opens out the world, it opens out life.
'It engages your whole thought – when you read it stops the world and you enter into that space.'
Vicki Perrin, chief executive of the Queen's Reading Room, said: 'We are delighted to announce the Queen's Reading Room Medal – a special recognition award for those reading heroes across the nation who champion books and reading in their local communities.'
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In a 2019 interview with Vogue Australia, Eilish stated that she wore her clothing "800 sizes bigger" than needed, admitting that it allowed her to keep a part of herself a "mystery." In a later advertisement for Calvin Klein, she elaborated on her philosophy, "Nobody can have an opinion because they haven't seen what's underneath, you know? Nobody can be like, 'She's slim-thick', 'She's not slim-thick', 'She's got a flat ass', 'She got a fat ass'. Nobody can say any of that because they don't know."When her world tour kicked off in Miami in March 2020, fans praised the now 23-year-old for addressing bodyshamers in a video interlude where she was shown undressing and dipping into a black pool while saying, "Some people hate what I wear, some people praise it. Some people use it to shame others, some people use it to shame me. But I feel you watching always..." 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The skit was later criticized in Time magazine, with Sarah Begley writing, "It does a disservice to Vergara's skills as an actress and comedian to pretend — even in a self-conscious way — like she's just a body. Sure, it was self-aware – but a self-aware wink doesn't work like a get-out-of-jail-free card." However, the Modern Family star quickly defended herself and the skit, stating, "I think it's absolutely the opposite [of demeaning]. It means that somebody can be hot and also be funny and make fun of herself. I think it's ridiculous that somebody started this—I know who she was—who has no sense of humor [and should] lighten up a little bit." Emily Ratajkowski: In 2015, Emily Ratajkowski faced criticism after defending her role in the music video for Robin Thicke's controversial 2013 song "Blurred Lines," admitting that she nearly turned the gig down, but ultimately saw it as a ''good opportunity." 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Some fans were delighted by the over-the-top video, while others were a little less enthusiastic, with one tweeting, "For something that's supposed to be about feminism and girl power it's literally just using all of the girl stereotypes in a super (sexual) way, making things like Rosie the riveter and others hot, flashy & 'extra. Basically, ew." Emma Stone: When the fantasy-comedy film, Poor Things, hit theaters in 2023, it immediately sparked debate amongst filmgoers who argued about the ways women and feminism were represented in the movie. In the film, Bella Baxter (played by Emma Stone) is a woman who is brought back to life with the brain of an unborn child. People argued that the film was exploitative of Bella's childlike nature, especially regarding sex scenes and nudity, as the character was practically incapable of saying "No," leading to questions about the movie's views on Stone responded to these criticisms in an interview with The Times, noting, 'If it helps, as the person who played it and produced it, I didn't see her as a child in any of those scenes." In another interview, Stone stated that she found it "challenging" to respond to critiques of the film because the majority of them removed her from the equation: "There's been a lot of questions about, 'Oh, this was a male writer and a male director, the male gaze in this situation – how does that feel?'" Demi Moore: During an interview with the New York Times titled "Demi Moore Is Done With The Male Gaze" to promote the body-horror film, The Substance, Moore opened up about the expectations people have placed upon her as an aging woman in asked why she decided to sign onto the horror movie, the 62-year-old noted that going into filming, she realized "this is not about me looking great, and in fact, there was a certain liberation in the role that wasn't having to be perfect. It's not that there aren't shots in it where I go, 'Ugh, my ass looks awful,' but I'm also OK with it." She later touched on her past struggles with disordered eating and extreme exercise: "I think there was a general sense about certain expectations, in particular coming out of the '80s and the '90s, where there was a greater pressure for perfection. If you look at any advertising, everything was very clean and perfect, and there wasn't any body inclusivity. There was a more extreme standard of beauty that existed..." Do you know of any other famous women who've spoken out about being objectified by the male gaze? Let us know in the comments! If you or someone you know has experienced sexual assault, you can call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673 (HOPE), which routes the caller to their nearest sexual assault service provider. You can also search for your local center here. If you or someone you know is struggling with an eating disorder, The National Alliance for Eating Disorder helpline can be reached at 866-662-1235 in the US. The helpline is run by clinicians and offers emotional support for individuals and their family, as well as referrals for all levels of eating disorder care.
