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Duchess of Cornwall celebrates World Book Day with Tom Fletcher

Camilla has her own online book club

duchess of cornwall world book day
Danielle Stacey
Online Royal CorrespondentLondon
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The Duchess of Cornwall revealed two of her favourite children's books as she joined a call with McFly star Tom Fletcher to mark World Book Day on Thursday.

Camilla, 73, who launched her own book club, the Duchess of Cornwall's Reading Room in January, took in a pre-recorded special event with the singer and fellow authors Zanib Mian and Katherine Rundell.

The Duchess surprised pupils from Acklam Whin Primary School, a National Literacy Trust Hub school in Middlesbrough and even gave them a special reading of Roald Dahl's Matilda.

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WATCH: Duchess of Cornwall reveals her favourite children's books

When asked what her favourite children's books are, the Duchess revealed them to be Moorland Mousie by Golden Gorse, which she described as a "really good adventure story of an Exmoor pony" and Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome.

Camilla, wearing a pleated green collared dress and a hummingbird brooch, also shared why she thinks World Book Day is so important, saying: "To actually own your first book is something you'll never forget. It's going to be given a very special place, they're going to read it.

"And I think it's somehow in their psyche, that first book they read is going to be there forever and it's hopefully going to lead them on to reading more and more, and discovering different authors, and different subjects they'd like to read about.

"So I think for a lot of children out there World Book Day means the birth of reading and that's why it's so important."

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camilla world book day 2020© Photo: Getty Images

The Duchess has visited schools on World Book Day previously; pictured in 2020

The National Literacy Trust, of which the Duchess is patron, Oak National Academy and World Book Day created the virtual celebration of books and reading, with the video available on the Oak National Academy Virtual School Library.

Camilla's video appearance comes after she made an in-person visit to a vaccination centre in Croydon, where she spoke with and thanked NHS staff and church representatives supporting the UK vaccination rollout. 

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