Queen Camilla is set to make her TikTok debut as a “book influencer”.
The Queen may soon join the social media site as a book influencer, according to the chief executive of The Queen’s Reading Room charity.
Vicki Perrin hinted at the possibility, saying: “Never say never. I’ve been so pleased at seeing how BookTok has exploded.”
The move would make the 77-year-old Queen the first member of the Royal Family to publicly join the platform.
BookTok, a phenomenon where millions share their love of books on TikTok, has gained immense popularity.
Perrin emphasised the importance of promoting reading, stating: “To my mind, there’s nothing more important than trying to get the message across that books are for everyone.”
She continued to tell The Telegraph: “What’s so wonderful about BookTok is that you have people from all different walks of life saying, ‘This is a book that has moved me,’ and that is so much more important than anything else.”
The Queen’s Reading Room, established in January 2021, aims to celebrate and promote the power and benefits of reading worldwide.
TikTok is a powerful platform which Queen Camilla could use
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It has made significant strides in promoting literature. Their podcast, featuring segments from Queen Camilla and interviews with notable guests like Sir Ian Rankin and Dame Joanna Lumley, ranked among the top one per cent globally upon launch.
Perrin revealed: “We now reach about 12 million people in about 171 countries around the world.”
The charity is collaborating with Cambridge University researchers to study the lifetime effects of reading on the brain.
Perrin described it as “a groundbreaking study looking into the connection between brain health, mental health, social health, and regular reading”.
Vicki Perrin (left), The Queen’s Reading Room Literary Festival CEO welcoming Queen Camilla to the Queen’s Reading Room Literary Festival
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Earlier this year, the charity’s first scientific study found that five minutes of daily reading is as beneficial to mental wellbeing as walking 10,000 steps or consuming five portions of fruit and vegetables.
Joining TikTok could potentially introduce the Queen’s passion for reading to a younger audience, further expanding the charity’s reach and impact.
The Queen’s Reading Room will be participating in the third annual Braemar Literary Festival this weekend at the Fife Arms in Aberdeenshire.
Vicki Perrin will host conversations with authors Jessie Burton and Ken Follett.
Queen Camilla is a huge advocate for reading especially among young people
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The festival boasts an impressive lineup, including actor Alan Cumming, food critic Tom Parker Bowles, novelist Kate Mosse, and poet laureate Simon Armitage.
Mosse praised BookTok’s impact: “It’s a glorious thing that there has suddenly been this enormous explosion in young adults reading novels thanks to BookTok.”
She added: “It’s a really huge phenomenon… the idea that young people are talking to young people all over the world about reading all of these types of books – are they my cup of tea? Most of them, no, but then, the books I read are not their cup of tea.”
Mosse emphasised the importance of diverse reading habits: “There shouldn’t be a kind of hierarchy in books… a classic book will be a book that endures, and partly that will be because people love it or value it, or think it’s important, or think it makes a difference to them.”
