The Duchess of Cornwall
has spoken publicly about her love of being a grandmother and revealed that
they are often “teaching” her new things.
Camilla has five grandchildren
and five step-grandchildren; her son Tom has two children, Lola and Freddy, and
her daughter Laura has three, Eliza and twins Louis and Gus Lopes. She is
also close with Prince William and Prince Harry’s children
– Prince George, Princess Charlotte, Prince Louis, Archie
Mountbatten-Windsor, and Lilibet Mountbatten Windsor.
“Well, what’s so lovely
about being a grandmother, they teach you things and hopefully they learn a few
things from us,” she shared during a visit to Cornwall where she toured a
school in her role as patron of the charity Silver Stories, which encourages
young people to read to the elderly.
The wife of Prince Charles
went on to describe reading as the “foundation of learning” while speaking to
Dame Esther Rantzen, a trustee of the charity, who joined the duchess at
Charlestown School in St Austell.
The interview will be
broadcast later on BBC Morning Live on BBC One.
“I think all the young
children need their confidence boosted especially to read, which as we all know
is the foundation of learning,” said the duchess. “You can see the
pleasure these listeners get from listening to children – it’s the highlight of
their week.”
The Duchess of Cornwall is step-grandmother to Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis |
In 2021 Camilla spoke about
reading with her grandchildren and shared that she bought them books for
Christmas gifts.
“I have a granddaughter
that’s very into Philip Pullman and she’s been through His Dark Materials
so I think I got her La Belle Sauvage and the twin boys, one I got Dracula and
the other I put onto Lord of the Rings…so those are the children’s
books,” she shared.
The Duchess is the Patron of a
number of literacy charities and recently launched The Duchess of Cornwall’s
Reading Room on Instagram for book lovers of all ages and abilities.
The 74-year-old has also
previously shared fond memories of her childhood, revealing that her favourite
book had been Black Beauty, and thinking about the story still makes her cry
now.