Camilla Parker Bowles has honored the "best-read man" she knows, who has influenced her love for books and reading, and it's not her husband, Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales.
In a post on her Instagram book club, The Reading Room, the Duchess of Cornwall, thanked her father, Major Bruce Shand, for nurturing and inspiring her to love reading. She said that she hasn't come across anyone who devoured books just as much as his father.
Shand died in 2006 and was a veteran of World War II. His daughter previously said that he was a brilliant storyteller who impressed his kids with tales every night.
Camilla recalled that Shand, no matter his schedule, would spend time reading to his children so all of the Shand kids developed the habit growing up. Thus, it became fitting for the Duchess of Cornwall to become the patron of seven literacy organizations in the United Kingdom, aside from launching her online book club, as she is a well-read royal.
At The Reading Room, the Duchess of Cornwall also pays tributes to the authors, young and old. Recently, however, Camilla recommended The Mirror and the Light from author Hilary Mantel, which is a trilogy on Thomas Cromwell, the adviser of Henry VIII.
Daily Express noted that the author was a controversial choice since Mantel once branded Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge, as "painfully thin" with "no personality," whose only purpose in the royal family is to give birth to heirs.
Mantel said these comments in 2013 before Prince George was born and said she won't apologize for it. She defended that her comments were a reflection of how Kate is perceived by the public at that time.
Meanwhile, the Duchess of Cornwall also shared her favorite hobby in The Reading Room. Apart from reading, Camilla said that she used to draw and doodle horses as a little girl.
The duchess had Charlie Mackesy as her guest in the book club, who is the author of the best-selling children's book The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse. She commended Mackesy for his drawings and shared the tidbit about her horse doodles, which Camilla said wasn't as good as the author.
Camilla was inspired to open her online book club after receiving positive reactions to her reading list. The Duchess of Cornwall shared these lists during the pandemic so that the people would go back to reading during the lockdowns. She said that she has also received a lot of letters from her book club followers and many have told her that reading has become their lifeline in this unprecedented period.
