The Duchess of Cornwall had a helping hand when she performed a cake-cutting ceremony – a grinning little boy.
When Camilla asked if anyone wanted to help with her royal duties during a visit to North Swindon Library to promote literacy, nine-year-old Sebastian did not hesitate and jumped up.
Camilla was visiting the Wiltshire town in her role as patron of the National Literacy Trust, to meet the winners of the organisation’s Lost Words poetry competition.
Author and illustrator Steve Antony, who drew the pictures for comic Tim Minchin’s book When I Grow Up, was also at the event.
With glasses perched on the end of her nose and the youngsters sitting comfortably, she had them mesmerised as she said: “Come into the woods, the wild birds are singing, the white hawthorn’s scent wafts into the wind, the skylark is up and the sheep-bells are ringing, young pleasure’s before and old sorrow’s behind.”
Author and illustrator Steve Antony, who works with Swindon’s libraries to encourage children to use them, said: “I cannot even begin to say just how important it is for children to have access to a public library.
“One of the reasons I try to do as much as I can with the libraries is to make children and adults aware what’s on offer.”
Congratulations to Norah, Estella and Molly, winners of Lost Words Poetry Competition.
Primary schools across Swindon have taken part in the @Literacy_Trust competition to write a poem inspired by nature words and Wiltshire dialect. pic.twitter.com/R9Y7xcGmca
— Clarence House (@ClarenceHouse) January 24, 2019
The royal visit also marked the first anniversary of Swindon’s involvement in the National Literacy Trust Hub project.
Launched in partnership with Swindon Borough Council and funded by WH Smith, the initiative provides a range of programmes to equip children and young people in Swindon with the literacy skills they need to succeed.
Later Camilla visited the Lyndhurst Centre to meet foster carers and children benefiting from the hub project which ensures every Swindon child taken into care is given book tokens and a notebook.
