News
The Duchess reads a story to youngsters on World Book Day
4th March 2010
The Duchess of Cornwall left a group of youngsters spellbound today during a reading session to mark World Book Day.
With dozens of primary school children at her feet in a West London shopping centre, The Duchess read an extract from Alice's Adventures In Wonderland by Lewis Carroll.
Watch the video below:
In hushed tones The Duchess described to the seven and eight-year-olds the moments after Alice had jumped down a hole after the white rabbit.
Her Royal Highness, who had put on her reading glasses, said: "Alice was not a bit hurt and she jumped up on her feet in a moment: she looked up, but it was all dark overhead; before her was another long passage, and the white rabbit was still in sight, hurrying down it."
The Duchess had joined the children at a "Mad Hatter's Tea Party" complete with performers playing the characters from the popular children's book.
She was following in the footsteps of her husband The Prince of Wales who read his own story - the Old Man Of Lochnagar - on the BBC children's programme Jackanory.
Lizzie Williams, a teacher at Avondale Park primary school in Shepherd's Bush, where the youngsters were from, said: "The majority of our children don't tend to be brought to bookshops or libraries so days like this hopefully raise the profile of books and reading."
The event was staged at Foyles bookshop in Westfield shopping centre to mark World Book Day, and six specially written £1 books to commemorate the initiative were published today to encourage reading.
Later in the bookshop The Duchess joined a group of adult learners who in January started a 19-week course at City Lit, an adult education centre in Covent Garden, aimed at encouraging them to read.
They talked to The Duchess about the books they had been reading and told her how much they were getting out of the course.
The Duchess said: "Once you get into the habit there's nothing better than sitting down and reading a book."