Queen Camilla has joined famous faces and best-selling authors to celebrate this year’s Braemar Literary Festival.
The three-day event, which was established in 2022 in collaboration with The Queen’s Reading Room, has returned to Royal Deeside for its third year.
Camilla first launched her book club during the Covid pandemic and it quickly grew into a charity which “champions” literature and provides free educational content.
The festival, held at the Fife Arms Hotel, brings together novelists, historians, artists, and actors with keen readers of all ages.
A number of sessions and events have taken place during this year’s festival which was launched with a celebratory dinner on Friday.
Michelin starred chef Tom Kitchin cooked up a special three-course meal in the hotel’s Clunie Dining Room for the guests, including the Queen and a number of the festival’s speakers.
Among those in attendance were authors Ken Follett, Jessie Burton and Kate Mosse who have all taken part in “In Conversation” sessions over the weekend.
The final day of the festival kicked off with a sold-out event at St Margaret’s in Braemar hosted by award-winning Scottish actor Alan Cumming.
The Traitors US host was joined by singer and broadcaster Fiona Kennedy to discuss how literature has “shaped” his life and career.
Audience members also got to talk to the star as he signed books after the event.
Camilla attends third Braemar Literary Festival
Camilla’s son, Tom Parker-Bowles, was also included in the line-up to talk about his latest book, “Cooking and the Crown: Royal Recipes from Queen Victoria to King Charles III”.
The Queen sat in the audience for her son’s conversation with food columnist Matthew Fort on Saturday morning.
All of the festivities are taking place only a short drive from Balmoral Castle where Camilla has been spending the summer with King Charles.
The royal couple have been spotted attending Sunday service at nearby Crathie Kirk in recent weeks, including the anniversary of the late Queen’s death.
A number of food and drink businesses in Braemar have also got involved in the festival, offering visitors a range of treats between talks.
Elsa’s Bar in the Fife Arms even teamed up with Johnnie Walker to offer specially curated cocktails throughout the event.
The 2024 Braemar Literary Festival ends on Sunday afternoon with an exclusive tour of the Fife Arms Gardens.
The space, designed by designer Jinny Blom, was created especially for the Braemar hotel.
Conversation