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Queen Camilla Launches Scotland’s National Year of Reading With Beano Partnership

The campaign seeks to reverse a steep decline in youth reading by embracing comics and audiobooks.

Overview

  • At the National Library of Scotland in Edinburgh, Queen Camilla launched the “Go All In” drive to build daily reading habits.
  • She received a bespoke Beano comic strip featuring her telling Dennis and Gnasher that comics and audiobooks count as reading.
  • Camilla joined illustration workshops with pupils from Granton and Clovenstone primary schools led by DC Thomson artists.
  • New National Literacy Trust data show just 32.7% of UK 8–16-year-olds enjoy reading and 18.7% read daily, with Scotland at 30.3% and 16.8% respectively.
  • In roundtable discussions she was told 54 Scottish libraries have closed since 2014, and she met authors Sir Ian Rankin, Val McDermid and Jackie Kay.