EXCLUSIVE: Queen Camilla Gets Left Weeping By One of King Charles' Noisy Evening Habits
Queen Camilla is sometimes left in tears over King Charles' antics.
Oct. 19 2026, Published 5:30 a.m. ET
Queen Camilla has revealed how King Charles' nightly reading ritual sometimes leaves her in tears – as his booming laughter interrupts their otherwise peaceful evenings together, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Camilla, 79, and Charles, 77, share a passion for literature and regularly settle down with books before dinner.
A Rare Glimpse Into Private Domestic Reading Routines
Queen Camilla revealed that King Charles' nightly reading habits sometimes leave her in tears.
But in a new BBC documentary, The Book That Changed My Life, the Queen admitted her husband's enthusiastic reactions to his favorite authors can prove distracting, particularly when she becomes emotionally absorbed in her own reading.
Camilla said: "My husband and I actually read before dinner. We just like sitting quietly and reading. He loves biographies and PG Wodehouse."
She added: "I occasionally, when I'm deep in a book, hear him roaring with laughter about something. It's very off-putting. I can't get back into my book, or I'll suddenly start weeping, but it's a lovely, quiet time."
The Queen's candid account offered an unusual glimpse into the couple's private domestic routine, revealing how books provide an opportunity to escape royal life.
'Reading Has Been Most of My Education'
Her early literary favorites included 'Treasure Island,' 'Peter Pan,' and 'A Tale of Two Cities.'
The documentary also explored the Queen's lifelong relationship with literature and the influence of her father, Major Bruce Shand, who discovered comfort in books while imprisoned during the Second World War.
Camilla, who left school at 16, credited reading with providing much of her education.
She said: "I left school quite young because in my day women didn't go to universities. So I think reading has been most of my education."
Recalling her childhood, she added: "We must have been very, very young when my father started reading to us. I think that's where my love of reading came from. We were transported into all sorts of other worlds."
Her early favorites included Treasure Island, Peter Pan, The Scarlet Pimpernel and A Tale of Two Cities. Camilla also recalled secretly reading D.H. Lawrence's controversial novel Lady Chatterley's Lover as a teenager.
"It was the moment of Lady Chatterley under our pillows, reading that by torchlight," she recalled. "The minute something's forbidden, you want to get hold of it."
Promoting Global Literacy and the Science of Stress Relief
The Queen's Reading Room now reaches nearly 12 million people globally.
The BBC program followed Camilla's work promoting literacy through The Queen's Reading Room, an initiative launched five years earlier.
The organization now reaches approximately 12 million people across 183 countries. At Clarence House, Camilla met four guests whose experiences illustrated literature's potential to provide companionship and reassurance during difficult periods.
They included former prisoner and prison reform advocate Omar Mentesh, truck driver Peter Lloyd, roadside cafe owner Sarah Heward and assault survivor Ian Kirby.
The Queen also discussed research commissioned by her reading initiative into the psychological benefits of regularly opening a book.
She said: "We've done research with neuroscientists who said that 10 minutes reading a day reduces stress by 20 percent."
Camilla warned declining reading habits could threaten an important part of cultural life.
"I think it would be a complete and utter tragedy if books went forever," Camilla said. "It's part of our heritage. If there's no reading, personally, I think we might as well all give up, because I don't think we'd even be human any longer."
King Charles' Passions
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King Charles actively pursues organic farming, painting, and the arts.
Charles has also cultivated passions beyond his royal duties, particularly gardening, environmental conservation, architecture, and traditional craftsmanship.
A passionate advocate for organic farming, he transformed his Highgrove estate into a showcase for sustainable horticulture.
Charles is also an accomplished watercolor painter, frequently depicting landscapes and historic buildings.
His love of classical music, opera and literature reflects a lifelong enthusiasm for the arts.
He has championed heritage preservation, traditional building techniques and rural communities, alongside his longstanding commitment to protecting wildlife and tackling climate change.
