Camilla Enjoys Reading... Despite Her Tears and the 'King's Laughter'

London (Reuters) – Queen Camilla said that she and King Charles spend their evenings reading before dinner, in quiet moments broken only by the British king’s laughter or her own tears.

In a documentary aimed at encouraging leisure reading in Britain, she said, “When I am immersed in reading a book, I hear him laughing out loud at something. It’s extremely distracting... or I suddenly start crying,” in a rare glimpse into their private life at Clarence House.

Camilla, 79, has been a passionate reader throughout her life. Following the success of the reading club she launched on social media during the COVID-19 pandemic, she established a charity three years ago to promote the benefits of reading.

Last year, the proportion of children and young people in Britain who enjoy reading fell to its lowest level in 20 years, according to the National Literacy Trust, which is currently collaborating with the government and Camilla’s charity in an effort to reverse this trend.

In the documentary, titled “The Book That Changed My Life,” which will air on the BBC, Camilla said, “I left school when I was very young, so reading formed the bulk of my education. You learn a great deal about people and about life.”

She added that books helped her father survive for more than two years when he was a prisoner of war in Germany in the early 1940s, an experience he later recounted in a book.

She said, “You don’t think about yourself when you read; you can immerse yourself in the lives of others, and that relieves stress.”

Charles is still undergoing cancer treatment, dealing with the fallout from the arrest of his brother, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, who denies any wrongdoing, and negotiating his relationship with his youngest son, Prince Harry, who has returned from the United States to live in Britain.