A Right Royal Visitor

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HRH celebrates World Book Day at Foyles

Young visitors to Foyles in Westfield got a special surprise on Thursday (March 4) when a royal guest attended to help them celebrate World Book Day.

The Duchess of Cornwall read an extract from Alice's Adventures In Wonderland by Lewis Carroll to a group of seven- and eight-year-olds from Avondale Park primary school in North Kensington.

The children had been invited to attend a 'Mad Hatter's Tea Party' to celebrate World Book Day and the release of the Alice in Wonderland film.

As well as the royal book-reading, the event also featured performers dressed as Alice in Wonderland characters.

Lizzie Williams, a teacher at the school said: "The majority of our children don't tend to be brought to bookshops or libraries so days like this hopefully raise the profile of books and reading."

Also celebrating World Book Day at Foyles was a group of adult leaners who are studying at the City Lit and the Duchess stopped to talk to them about the books they were reading.

"Once you get into the habit, there's nothing better than sitting down and reading a book," she said.

World Book Day is said to be the biggest annual celebration of books and reading in the UK and Ireland.

March 5, 2010