Photo: Finnbarr Webster/Getty Images
Camilla, Duchess of Cornwallenjoyed a solo outing in Wales as she championed one of her biggest royal causes: promoting literacy.
Camilla, who is in Wales this week for a series of outings alongside her husbandPrince Charles, stepped out on Wednesday for a visit to Millbrook Primary School in Newport, where she officially opened their new school library.
Upon her arrival at the school, she received a warm welcome from the students — and shared a special moment with a young girl who had been pracicing her royal wave in anticipation of the future Queen Consort’s visit.
“That was a very royal wave,” Camilla told 5-year-old Callie with a smile.
The Duchess of Cornwall, 74, also got up close and personal with the school’s “reading dog.” Taliesin, named for a famous Welsh poet, helps the children settle into their reading area.
Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall.Finnbarr Webster/Getty Images
“Do you like him?” Camilla asked the group of children. “It’s absolutely brilliant to meet him. He wants to be your friend.”
“Happy reading,” Camilla told them as she left the library.
The Australian Kelpie Border Collie Cross helps children who are anxious about reading aloud feel more at ease.
“He also helps if they’re finding it hard to concentrate or listen to a story as stroking him can settle them,” headteacher Keri Smith tells PEOPLE.
The royal was then taken to a special assembly where “How To Train Your Dragon” author Cressida Cowell was entertaining the children in “Dragonese.”
Cowell added, “Her Royal Highness really is a booky person.”
Camilla, who turns 75 on July 17, also received an early birthday present during her visit: a birthday cake and a rendition of “Happy Birthday” in both Welsh and English. She was also gifted some books for her family.
In honor of her upcoming birthday, it was announced that the Duchess’s Birthday Books Project will see 75 elementary schools around the U.K. will receive a set of books that promote well-being.
She was then invited to cut the birthday cake alongside one of the school’s students — 11-year-old Lawson.
Camilla’s birthday cake.Finnbarr Webster/Getty Images
Camilla’s literacy campaign, which also includes her online Reading Room book club, is one of Camilla’s longest-standing missions. She’s been patron of the National Literacy Trust for almost 12 years.
Earlier in the day, Camilla attended a round table discussion, where she heard how one in eight schools don’t have a library — and that it’s down to one in four in areas with socio-economic challenges.
Headteacher Smith told Camilla that they are also opening up the school’s library to the local community.
“If you don’t have the books at home, you’re not going to get into reading,” Camilla said.
Jonathan Douglas, CEO of theNational Literacy Trust, tells PEOPLE: “On occasions like this, her authenticity, as a mother and grandmother really comes across. She understands children and families and wants to talk to children about their reading.”
Smith adds that her support of the campaign also “encourages parents to take accountability and responsibility in encouraging children to read. Her being here really emphasizes to the community too how important the library is.”
Connor Allen, the poet laureate for children in Wales, met Camilla at the event.
“It is important for the people of this area. Newport is such a deprived area, so having something like this is crucial. Not only to a child’s development but for the community’s development. Books are an escapism and it should be a given right for children should be able to have that experience and go into different worlds. It’s essential for their growth,” he says.
“She is a real champion of pushing that ethos into the country, into the community. It shouldn’t be a luxury, but should be a given right for children to be able to escape and be educated and have fun.”
Before she left, Camilla was also introduced to student helpers who joined the royal protection officers for some experience and helped hold doors open for VIPs and media.
“She thanked us and said that maybe one day we might come and work for her,” Alicia, 11, says.
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source: people.com
