Jilly Cooper to headline at the Queen’s Reading Room festival 2025
Queen Camilla has announced the return of her charity’s book festival, with a change of location and headliners including Jilly Cooper, Helen Fielding and Jojo Moyes.
The Queen’s Reading Room festival will take place at Chatsworth in Derbyshire on 19th and 20th September, with the choice of venue to celebrate the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth.
It will include a screening of the film adaptation of Pride and Prejudice in the gardens of the stately home, which starred as Pemberley (Mr Darcy’s house) in the 2005 film.
The Queen’s Reading Room charity, launched by the Queen in 2023, works in the UK and beyond to celebrate and promote the transformative power of books.
The 2025 Festival will see Lorraine Kelly interview Rivals author Cooper, while Bridget Jones author Fielding and Me Before You author Moyes will discuss their writing process.
Julia Quinn, author of the Bridgerton series, will take part in a special Bridgerton discussion panel; actor Celia Imrie will interview The Thursday Murder Club author Richard Osman; and journalist Reeta Chakrabarti will interview Assembly author Natasha Brown.
Samantha Shannon, Sarah Winman, Joanna Cannon, Kristin Hannah, Peter James, Rupert Everett, Robert Harris, Peter Frankopan, Sebastian Faulks, Lady Anne Glenconner, Gyles Brandreth, Sarah Waters and Alan Titchmarsh will also feature in the line-up.
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The festival, which previously took place at Hampton Court Palace, sold almost 20,000 tickets in its first two years.
Vicki Perrin, chief executive of The Queen’s Reading Room, said: “After the success of last year’s Queen’s Reading Room Festival, which saw us fill over 10,000 seats in a single day, we are delighted to be bringing our flagship event back for 2025 – this time to the magical surrounds of Chatsworth.
“As a charity, we are committed to ensuring that everybody can access our events. We are therefore so excited by the opportunity of connecting with more audiences in the UK at Chatsworth and are immensely grateful to Chatsworth House Trust for hosting us – it’s clear that, like us, they are deeply committed to championing creativity and the joy of books.”
Jane Marriott, director of Chatsworth House Trust, said: “We often say that Chatsworth is more than a house; it’s a place of creativity and community, learning and ideas. This partnership between our two charities demonstrates how true this is, and we can’t wait for the festival to begin.”
Tickets went on sale at 10am today.
