Queen and Author Share Joke About ‘Obsession’ with Weather Apps

The Queen humorously admitted that “everybody teases her” about her “obsession” with weather apps at a charity event originally planned to be outdoors but moved inside due to rain, shared an author.

The event on Tuesday gathered bestselling authors and volunteers for the National Literacy Trust, an organization dedicated to providing literacy skills to children and adults, to celebrate its 30th anniversary.

Initially slated to occur in the gardens of Clarence House, the celebration was relocated inside after London’s weather turned grey and drizzly.

Camilla, dressed in a long-sleeved navy dress adorned with a white floral pattern, greeted representatives and volunteers with smiles and laughter before cutting a square anniversary cake decorated with fondant books.

Francesca Simon, author of the popular children’s series Horrid Henry, was one of the writers in attendance. She shared a light-hearted moment with the Queen about the dismal weather.

Ms. Simon recounted, “We were laughing about our mutual love of weather apps. She mentioned the rain in France, where I was supposed to be, and I said, ‘yeah, I know.’ She then said everybody teases her because she, like me, often checks the weather in various parts of the world.”

Ms. Simon emphasized that the Queen’s support is “invaluable” for the charity, praising her genuine devotion to the cause. “She turns up and puts her passion for reading behind it, making her commitment much more than superficial,” the author added.

Axel Scheffler, the illustrator of The Gruffalo, echoed similar sentiments about Camilla’s influence, stating, “I know she’s read The Gruffalo to her grandchildren.”

Among the youngest volunteers present was Jayden Lowndes, 10, from Stoke-on-Trent. Jayden operates a community book trolley at his school every Friday afternoon. He shared that he would recommend “The Beast Of Buckingham Palace” by David Walliams to Camilla, thinking she would enjoy it.

The Queen also spoke with Jess Jarvis, a 31-year-old bus driver from Cornwall, who set up small libraries on her buses to offer books to children. “She told me ‘every bus should have books on’ after hearing my story,” Ms. Jarvis recalled.

As an avid reader and patron of the charity since 2010, the Queen was gifted five books selected by volunteers, including Maya Angelou’s “Why The Caged Bird Sings” and “Handle With Care” by Shreya Sen-Handley.

In her address to attendees, the Queen lauded the charity’s efforts and expressed hope that illiteracy would be “a thing of the past” in the next 30 years.

During the lockdown, Camilla launched her Reading Room project, which started as an online reading club and has since evolved into a significant initiative featuring a podcast with leading authors and even a literary festival.

Over the past 30 years, the National Literacy Trust has supported over five million children in gaining reading and writing skills and worked with nearly 17,000 schools. In 2023 alone, the charity gifted 528,303 books and is currently campaigning to ensure every primary school in the UK has a library by 2028.

Other notable authors who attended the event included Malorie Blackman, Adele Parks, and Darren Simpson.

Source: Various News Outlets