The Queen has spoken of the 'urgent' need to get people to pick up a book as worrying evidence shows global reading rates are at their 'very lowest', particularly among children.

Camilla, 78, also vowed that her own literacy charity and online book club, The Queen's Reading Room, would do everything it could to buck the trend as 'books do make life better'.

Concerningly, The National Literacy Trust, of which Camilla is patron, reports that just one in three (32.7%) children and young people aged eight to 18 in the UK said they enjoyed reading in 2025 - the lowest level since the question was first asked in 2005.

Currently, only one in two UK adults reads a book in a year, and 46% of people say they struggle to finish one due to distractions around them.

Unicef also recently found an estimated 70% of 10-year-olds in low and middle income countries globally were unable to read and understand a simple written story, a staggering rise from around 57% in the pre-pandemic era.

Marking the fifth anniversary of her Reading Room, Queen Camilla said: 'Five years ago, I founded a book club in lockdown, in the hope that others might derive as much enjoyment from good literature as I do.

'Since those humble beginnings, that book club has grown into a global charity, supporting a community of book lovers, united by a shared belief in the power of reading.

'I am so proud of what my charity has achieved, reaching millions of people, staging remarkable events and partnering with incredible organisations to bring books to people who need them most.

The Queen has spoken of the 'urgent' need to get people to pick up a book as worrying evidence shows global reading rates are at their 'very lowest'

Camilla, 78, vowed that her own literacy charity and online book club, The Queen's Reading Room, would do everything it could to buck the trend as 'books do make life better'. Pictured: The Queen reading to schoolchildren at Griffin Primary School in London in 2021

'Its groundbreaking research has confirmed what many of us always felt: reading truly changes how we perceive, how we think and how we connect.

'At a time when global reading rates are at their very lowest, my charity's mission feels more urgent than ever. Books do make life better, and this is only the beginning.'

Her Majesty conceived the idea of The Queen's Reading Room during the Covid pandemic in 2020 after she decided to share some of her favourite book recommendations.

Her first ideas were 'literally scribbled on a piece of paper during the first lockdown' and born by the simple hope she could help spread a little positivity at such a grim time, when many were confined inside the four walls of their home.