Kate Middleton’s Fiction Filled Reading List Will Help Pass the Time at Home
A lot of people are stuck at home right now, helping to prevent the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19). Filling the hours can be a little difficult, and sometimes people look to celebrities for ideas on what they can do. This can be a mixed bag because some celebrities are doing what they can to help, while others are failing to set the best example. But no matter who you are, one great way to get through the isolation is with a good book, and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge can help with a list of reading selections that will keep people’s noses in a book for quite a while.
A royal family of book lovers
Although she’s a passionate supporter of a number of charities, Kate isn’t the patron of any that encourage literacy. That role is taken by her stepmother-in-law, Camilla Parker Bowles, who is the patron of the National Literacy Trust. Whether it’s the encouragement of Camilla, or that the family has always been enthusiastic readers, the royal family has a number of books to recommend.
Of course, while it’s interesting to hear that Camilla loves The Cazalet Chronicles by Elizabeth Jane Howard, or that Prince Charles loves gardening books, what everyone really wants to know is what Kate is reading.
Kate Middleton’s reading list is varied
It’s probably no surprise that Kate is a fan of the classics, according to Harper’s Bazaar Australia. She recently released a picture that showed some of her books in the background, and they were just the sort of books you might expect to see on a royal’s desk — even a few generations ago. The selection included classic English authors, such as Shakespeare, Jane Austen, Thomas Hardy, and Charles Dickens.
But not all her books are the kind you’d find on a syllabus for a college classic literature course. She’s not so different from other people; she also enjoys more modern fiction, such as the psychological thriller The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins. She’s been seen leaving a bookstore with the historical fiction novel The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and literary fiction novel When God was a Rabbit by Sarah Winman.
The children are readers too
Well, considering their age, they probably don’t do much reading on their own — especially the younger ones. But Prince George, age 6, Princess Charlotte, almost 5, and Prince Louis, age 2, seem to have plenty of literary input in their lives. Their grandfather, Prince Charles, apparently reads the Harry Potter books to them, complete with voices. While the children are quite a bit younger than the intended nine-to-twelve-year-old readership, Camilla says they love it.
The royal children usually enjoy very age-appropriate books. It seems that Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis both enjoy books by author Julia Donaldson, such as The Gruffalo. In fact, Prince William once said that her book Room on the Broom had proved indispensable during the bedtime routine. “I read this to our children all the time,” he said.
Recently Kate was seen leaving the bookstore Waterstones with a full bag, as reported by Express. She had apparently asked the staff about books for children about history and the military. Perhaps she needed a little extra reading material to supplement the homeschooling they’ve been doing.
Most people’s experience with staying at home probably isn’t much like what the royals are doing. But fans can get their days to look a little more like Kate’s by taking a look at the books she loves. After all, a great read is one of the best ways to pass the time.
