Queen Camille Today during a visit to Liverpool I enjoyed a very special Gruffalo performance by writer Julia Donaldson.
Camilla, 79, couldn’t stop smiling as she joined schoolchildren and families in Speke Hall for an interactive storytelling session led by Julia and Gruffalo’s co-creator Axel Scheffler.
King Charles‘s wife looked radiant in a black and white printed dress which she paired with a cream colored dress trench coat as she wrapped up a busy week of appointments.
During today’s visit she also met local partners and organizations who are working with the National Literacy Trust to improve access to support for young children in Liverpool.
Dame Julia, author of The Gruffalo stories, said: ‘It was fun meeting the families and playing out The Gruffalo with them, and I hope they will feel encouraged to read more stories and perhaps even play them out themselves.
‘It was also a great opportunity to get together with some of the people from the National Literacy Trust’s Liverpool hub and find out more about everything the charity is doing to promote books and reading during the Year of Reading and beyond.
Earlier in the day, the Queen congratulated a community that brought a library ‘from the ashes’ after it was set on fire during riots.
On Friday, Camilla visited the Spellow Community Hub and Library in Walton, Liverpool, which was set on fire when violent disorder broke out on County Road in the wake of the stabbings at a dance class in Southport, Merseyside, in the summer of 2024.
Camilla, 79, couldn’t stop smiling as she joined families in Speke Hall for an interactive storytelling session led by Julia and Gruffalo’s co-creator Axel Scheffler. She is seen here with Jonathan Douglas, the director of the National Literary Trust
Queen Camilla, Patron of the National Literacy Trust (NLT), Axel Scheffler, Julia Donaldson pose with the Gruffalo and children in the woodlands as part of a visit to Speke Hall, Liverpool.
The Queen donated a box of books when the library was restocked before its reopening, and took more books with her on her visit.
After unveiling a plaque, she said: “You can never have enough books. I brought back some more and it’s so great to see this place rise from the ashes.
“Congratulations to all of you who made this possible,” she continued. “It was such a terrible story and it had a happy ending.”
Sean McEvoy, a library and information assistant who read a story to schoolchildren with the Queen, said: ‘There are so many positives to come from what happened.
“We’ve gotten past the point of talking about it and how it made us feel, and now we’re looking at the community’s reaction and focusing much more on the positives of it.
‘It’s been great since the library has reopened. It was great to have the Queen visiting today. It’s good for the community and good for the library, and they deserve it.”
Mr McEvoy read Giles Andreae’s Giraffes Can’t Dance to the children as Camilla sat next to him.
He said: ‘This is not something I expected to do on a normal working day! The children were fantastic.’
Julia Donaldson performs for local schoolchildren in the woods of Liverpool’s Speke Hall
The Queen (far right) is watching Julia and Axel’s interactive storytelling session today
King Charles’ wife looked radiant in a black and white printed dress which she teamed with a cream trench coat as she wrapped up a busy week of engagements
Before Camilla unveiled the plaque, children’s book author Frank Cottrell-Boyce read a poem about the library.
He told the Queen he had done a workshop with children to come up with a new name for the facility ahead of its reopening, but they wanted it to remain Spellow.
After the visit, he said, “What makes Spellow especially important is that after the riots, people came together to restore something that their community couldn’t afford to lose. It is a powerful story about resilience and hope.
“The joy of sharing a book together is one of the greatest gifts we can give a child. Reading helps children dream bigger, build self-confidence and feel connected.
‘It was a privilege to share with Her Majesty The Queen how communities are working together to put books and stories at the heart of children’s lives.’
Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram, one of the library’s dignitaries, said: ‘Spellow Hub has gone from a symbol of devastation to a powerful example of what this community really stands for. I am delighted to welcome Her Majesty to our region and for her to see first-hand the remarkable journey this area has made.”
Camilla helped students from St Francis De Sales Catholic Junior School and Arnot St Mary Primary School take part in color and word searches in the library, before joining the children taking chess lessons.
She picked up a queen chess piece for a child who dropped it and learned that the class had learned which direction a queen could move.
She then spoke with police and firefighters about their involvement in tackling the disorder and was shown photos of the damage to the library after the fire.
She also met Alex McCormick, who set up an online fundraising campaign with the aim of raising £500 to repair and replenish the library, raising £250,000.
Ms McCormick said: “It has been incredible to see the Spellow Community Library and Hub flourish and grow, proving what we have always known – that it is a vital part of this community.
‘It was a privilege to be part of this wonderful journey.’
