Queen Camilla marked her 79th birthday on Friday, July 17, with a new Buckingham Palace portrait, public messages from senior members of the royal family and a nationwide children’s book giveaway.
Prince William and Catherine, Princess of Wales, led the birthday tributes by reposting the portrait on their Instagram Stories.
“Wishing Her Majesty The Queen a very Happy Birthday!” the couple wrote, according to People.
Buckingham Palace also used the occasion to announce that Camilla will give a special edition of Katherine Rundell’s Impossible Creatures to children across the United Kingdom this Christmas.
The Portrait Included a Jewel From Queen Elizabeth II
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Camilla’s butterfly brooch was presented to Queen Elizabeth II at the Birmingham Spring Fair in February 1977, the year of the late monarch’s Silver Jubilee. The portrait was released nearly two months after it was taken at Hillsborough Castle on May 20.
The Royal Family’s Instagram account later thanked the public for its birthday messages with another photograph of Camilla. She planned to celebrate privately, while a 41-gun salute in London’s Green Park marked the occasion.
Her birthday came one week after she and King Charles hosted Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet at Highgrove House on July 10. Buckingham Palace confirmed the private gathering after it ended. It was the first time in four years that Charles had seen Meghan and his California-based grandchildren.
Camilla’s Book Gift Will Reach Children Across the U.K.
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Every Year 6 child in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, along with P6 students in Scotland, is expected to receive the special edition of Impossible Creatures. The books will be distributed through schools, libraries and community outreach in partnership with the National Literacy Trust, which counts Camilla as a patron.
The giveaway is part of the National Year of Reading 2026. Each copy will carry a royal stamp on its cover and a personal message from Camilla, who describes Rundell as “one of my favourite writers” and the novel as a “brilliant fantasy,” The Independent reported.
First published in 2023, Impossible Creatures follows two children trying to protect a group of magical islands. It was named Waterstones Book of the Year in 2023 and won Children’s Fiction Book of the Year at the 2024 British Book Awards.
Camilla is also a patron of BookTrust and Coram Beanstalk. Her Queen’s Reading Room began as an Instagram book club during the COVID-19 lockdowns and has since expanded into a charity that organizes literary events and provides free educational material.