Queen Camilla Calls for Togetherness at Chatsworth Festival
Queen Camilla closed her book festival at Chatsworth House on 20 September with a call for togetherness, as extracts from a new memoir by Earl Spencer made allegations about King Charles III.
The Queen, 79, spoke in the Painted Hall at Chatsworth House in Derbyshire on the second day of The Queen's Reading Room Festival, held on 19 and 20 September 2026. The festival has now run for a fourth year, according to Hello! Magazine.
She quoted the proverb: "If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go Together." She said the festival had "gone far" because of support from writers, actors, publishers and readers.
She kept it brief. The message was unity.
The Queen founded The Queen's Reading Room, the literacy charity behind the festival, which celebrates the power and benefits of reading. She told the audience of her love of books and their "life-enhancing power," as reported by HeraldScotland. During the two days she appeared with broadcaster Gyles Brandreth and spoke to author Reeta Chakrabarti at Chatsworth.
Her appearance came after allegations about the King were published in extracts from Earl Spencer's memoir, as noted by The Telegraph. The book, titled Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, is scheduled for publication on 22 September.
In the extracts, Spencer alleges that the then Prince Charles directed a "stream of anger" at him after Spencer opposed Princes William and Harry, then aged 15 and 12, walking in the funeral procession for their mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, after her death in a car crash in 1997. Spencer further claims Charles said "We'll forget her soon enough" and describes Charles as sounding "giddily elated... like a lottery winner" when he telephoned Spencer after Diana's death.
In a BBC interview released on Friday, Spencer insisted he is "telling the truth" and described the King's reported comments about Diana as "monstrous". Buckingham Palace responded with the statement: "The pain of fraternal grief can cloud reason."
For readers coming to this fresh, the festival and the memoir are separate events on the same weekend. One is a public celebration of reading in a Derbyshire stately home. The other is a contested account of private conversations in 1997, with claim and denial both on the record.
