Will Camilla’s book club sink or swim?

If nothing else, the nation’s latest online book club will be its poshest. The Duchess of Cornwall has thrown her feathered fascinator into the ring with Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon and Richard and Judy to found — as she announced on her Instagram feed — an online book club called The Reading Room, in which she’ll be sharing personal recommendations, author interviews and kits of suggested questions for exploring the texts. 

There’s every reason to welcome this as a serious project. Camilla has been closely involved with the Booker Prize for many years, is a patron of seven literacy charities, and is known to read widely and intelligently. On a short video message, she declares that she has loved reading ‘since I was very small and I’d love everybody else to enjoy it as much as I do. You can escape, and you can travel, and you can laugh and you can cry.