The Duchess of Cornwall attended Wells Festival of Literature today, one of Britain’s oldest literary festivals. It runs for eight days from Friday 14th to Saturday 22nd October and hosts more than 30 talks and performances.
The festival aims to promote the enjoyment of books and reading, and the nine-day event features talks from writers, poetry and short story competitions, and a schools’ programme for children.
This year, the festival is supporting the South-West launch of Beanstalk, a national literacy charity of which The Duchess is Patron. Beanstalk recruits and trains volunteers to work in primary schools with children who have fallen behind with their reading.
During the festival, Her Royal Highness read an extract from the book ‘The Best Bear in All the World’ by Jeanne Willis to children from local schools. The book was published earlier this month to mark the 90th anniversary of Winnie The Pooh.
The Duchess is a keen supporter of literacy among children and adults, and is Patron of the National Literacy Trust, BookTrust, First Story and Beanstalk, all of which help to promote literacy in young people.
