Our Patron

Her Majesty The Queen of the United Kingdom is BookTrust's Patron.

Photograph by David Bebber

Her Majesty took over the reins as patron from HRH The Duke of Edinburgh in 2011, who stood down after many years in the role, and in September 2021 it was confirmed that she will be extending her Patronage of BookTrust.

The Queen began her Patronage at an event at Dundonald Library in Belfast, where she was introduced to children from The Letterbox Club - the BookTrust scheme that aims to improve the educational outlook for children who are looked after. This is just one of the areas of BookTrust's work that focuses on empowering and inspiring children and families to experience the pleasure of reading.

The Queen is Patron or President of a number of leading charities and in recent times she has become increasingly well-known for her deep personal interest in literature and literacy, even launching her own initiative on Instagram, the Duchess of Cornwall's Reading Room.

The Queen celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Waterstones Children's Laureate with Anthony Browne, Julia Donaldson, Jacqueline Wilson, Cressida Cowell and Chris Riddell

As Patron, The Queen is a key figurehead for BookTrust's work to inspire a lifelong love of books for all and in 2021 joined Waterstones Children's Laureate Cressida Cowell to open a brand new primary school library as part of the Life-changing Libraries campaign, reading the children one of her favourite books, The Tiger Who Came to Tea.

The Queen has said:

'I firmly believe in the importance of igniting a passion for reading in the next generation…The power of a captivating story, a well-honed sentence or a beautifully crafted character is immense, not only taking the reader - or listener - to different worlds, but broadening and stimulating the mind, too.'

Meanwhile, BookTrust's CEO Diana Gerald has described The Queen as an 'incredible champion for children's reading', adding:

'We're delighted that with her continued patronage, we can support millions of children to reap the life-changing benefits of reading.'

Meet our President