She has long championed the importance of reading and literacy.
asserted
She → champion → reading
And now for the first time Queen Camilla has shed light on the books that 'changed my life' as part of a moving new BBC documentary.
asserted
that → shed → documentary
They range from the outright funny, with Her Majesty recalling how she first devoured a 'forbidden' copy of Lady Chatterley's Lover 'under the pillow by torchlight', to the deeply emotional.
asserted
she → range → emotional
On the latter she recalls how she wept through every page of her late father's account of his years as a Nazi prisoner of war because, like so many people of his generation, he had been so traumatised by the conflict that he couldn't speak to his own family about it.
And they all go to explain why she firmly believes it would be a 'complete and utter tragedy' if books went forever.
asserted
books → recall → it
'It's part of our heritage, if there's no reading, personally, I think we might as well all give up because I don't think we'd even be human any longer,' she says.
uncertain
she → be → heritage
The Book That Changed My Life is a BBC Arts production inspired by Camilla's literacy charity, The Queen's Reading Room, which will air on BBC Two on October 14.
asserted
which → change → October
It explores the powerful, transformative power of reading through five people – including the Queen – whose lives have been changed by books at moments when they needed them most.
asserted
they → explore → them
The Book That Changed My Life is a BBC Arts production inspired by Camilla's literacy charity
Sarah Heward decided to turn her back on her glamorous life working for a prestigious wine company after reading a book by Robyn Davidson, Tracks, about her journey across the Australian desert with four camels and a dog
They include career criminal Omar Mentesh who was electrocuted in an horrific accident when he was just five, left school barely literate and began getting into trouble with the police at just eight.
asserted
he → change → eight
He first went to prison when he was 15, where he found a copy of The Eagle Has Landed by Jack Higgins in his cell.
asserted
Eagle → go → cell
'I read it straight out of survival instinct, I needed to escape my thoughts,' he said.
asserted
he → read → thoughts
Although it was several years before he 'went straight', he now works full-time with other prisoners, introducing them to literature as well as helping with training, employment and education to enable to them to follow a different path on release.
asserted
he → go → release
With enormous candour Queen Camilla credits reading with 'educating' her after leaving school at just 16 with a single 'O' level to her name, before attending a Swiss finishing school.
asserted
Camilla → credit → school
'I left school quite young because in my day women didn't go to universities.
asserted
women → leave → universities
So I think reading has been most of my education,' she explains.
asserted
she → think → education
'You learn so much about people, about life.
asserted
You → learn → life
I think people who don't read miss out so much.
asserted
who → think → ?
That's why it's so important to get people reading early.'
asserted
people → get → ?
She reveals that both she and the King are avid readers – even though she finds his laughter as he reads can be annoying at times.
asserted
he → reveal → times
'If it's been quite a hard week, my grandchildren will say, 'I completely chill out'.
asserted
I → say → ?
You come out of it feeling better,' she says.
asserted
she → come → it
'My husband and I actually read before dinner.
asserted
husband → read → dinner
We just like sitting quietly and reading.
asserted
We → sit → ?
He loves biographies and PG Wodehouse.
asserted
He → love → biographies
'Occasionally, when I am deep in a book, I hear him roaring with laughter about something.
asserted
him → hear → something
It's very off-putting.
asserted
It → put → ?
I can't get back into my book, or I'll suddenly start weeping, but it's a lovely, quiet time.
asserted
it → get → book
'
She also speaks with huge emotion about the memoir written by her late father, Bruce Shand, about his experiences during the Second World War.
asserted
She → speak → War
'We must have been very, very young when my father started reading to us.
asserted
father → start → us
I think that's where my love of reading came from.
asserted
love → think → reading
We were transported into all sorts of other worlds,' she says.
asserted
she → transport → worlds
'I think a lot of people do see books as a lifeline.
asserted
lot → think → lifeline
My father, he was captured at Al Alamein.
asserted
he → capture → Alamein
Nearly at the end of the battle, when they'd almost captured Rommel, a sniper shot him through his face.
asserted
sniper → capture → face
'He was incredibly lucky because the bullet when in one side and out the other, didn't touch his younger or his teeth.
asserted
bullet → touch → younger
He was taken to a prisoner of war camp and incarcerated for two and a half years.
asserted
He → take → years
'In those places, there's not much to do unless there's not much to do unless you're plotting your escape.
asserted
you → be → escape
So he said he educated himself because he read every single book, from the Bible to the encyclopaedia, whatever was there, he just sat all day long and read and read and read.
asserted
he → say → encyclopaedia
And that's, I think, how he survived it.
asserted
he → think → it
Like all that generation, they never talked about the war.
asserted
they → talk → war
You bury it all because you've seen such horrendous things.
asserted
you → bury → things
…and 36 more, not listed.
The Aporia
