Royal blue! Queen Camilla is elegant in Fiona Clare dress as she hosts Booker Prize Foundation Reception at Clarence House

Queen Camilla looked elegant in a royal blue dress as she hosted the Man Booker Prize reception at Clarence House today.

Camilla, 76, re-wore the Fiona Claire dress she has worn several times to host the annual event.

Before the announcement of the 2023 winner, Her Majesty met with guests, past winners and authors shortlisted for this year’s Booker Prize.

She appeared in good spirits, beaming as she spoke to a number of guests, including Another Eden award-nominated writer Paul Harding.

The royal accessorized his ensemble with extravagant bracelets and necklaces from Van Cleef & Arpels, as well as statement gold earrings.

Camilla showed off her glowing make-up with peach lipstick and her signature blonde locks styled into a glamorous bob.

Her Majesty’s modest dress was created especially for her by British couturier Fiona Clare. The vibrant design featured a flared silhouette, scoop neckline, sculpted darts and a sophisticated midi length.

The Queen said she was “very jealous” of the future Booker Prize winner as she was given the trophy to “safeguard”.

Today at a reception at Clarence House for the 2023 Prize shortlisted authors, guests and past winners, Camilla received Iris and thanked them for enriching people’s lives.

“I would like this to be given to me. I am very jealous of the person who is going to pick him up on Sunday and I wish you all the best,” she said.

In her spontaneous speech, she added: “I wanted to say thank you to all the writers who improve our lives. We couldn’t do it without you all.

“As I always say, reading is escapism. Whatever is going on in your life that you feel is difficult to deal with, you can pick up a book and just go into another world.

“If it weren’t for all of you, all the people, publishers and agents who help make your books famous, the world would be a very sad place. So thank you all very much.

First awarded in 1969, the Booker Prize is the world’s most important award for the best work of sustained fiction written in English by authors anywhere in the world and published in the UK and Ireland.

This year’s winner will be announced from a shortlist of six in London on Sunday evening.

The shortlisted titles and authors included: Sarah Bernstein for Obedience Training; Jonathan Escoffery for If I Survive; Paul Lynch for Prophet Song; Paul Harding for Another Eden; Chetna Maru for Western Lane; and Paul Murray for “Bee Sting.”

Sir Ben Okri gave a moving speech about the “magic” of the Booker Prize and praised the “vitality” of literature.

He compared the award to a “fairy tale” being played out and called Camilla “its queen.”

Describing the Booker Prize as a “gift” given to the world every year, he said: “People may argue about the nature and quality of the gift, but nothing changes the fact that a gift was given and that a powerful ritual was performed.” accepted.

“We are truly lucky to have a Queen who loves to read and who also defends the right of writers to write freely and unhindered. After all, a fairy tale is not an unreal fact that occurs in the real world, it is a transformative act that occurs in a resistant world. Magic is only possible because reality is complex.

“From the suffering of the world, from insoluble conflicts, from wars, injustice, grief and inequality, we go through a ritual of choice. We are destined to look beneath the surface of the six books and choose from that which is perhaps most appropriate to the times and gives us the greatest pleasure, from the most excellent history, filtered through the richest and most truthful language.

“Someone has defined genius not as a person necessarily possessing an intellect superior to the rest of us, but as someone who, in the labyrinth of his work, can make the right and highest choice.

“Literature is about choice, about consequences, about results. Great storytelling reminds us that we have a difficult transformation to make in a resistant world. In a world of things and creatures that don’t want to change. But the forces of change inevitably act.

“We are part of a small galaxy of people who believe that the word redeems. I am called to greet you all… Whatever is happening in the world, let us not lose sight of the main tale, which is the point of light in the dark energy of it all. Millions of other points of light touch the threads of stories that you create and that connect us all in this great story of life. ‘

Guest and previous Booker Prize winner Dame Penelope Lively said it was “wonderful” that the Queen had become such a champion for literacy.

Camilla has become a vocal campaigner for literacy in the UK and abroad since she joined the royal family and even opened her own online reading room, which has attracted more than 160,000 subscribers.

Gaby Wood, chief executive of the Man Booker Prize Foundation, described the Queen as a “passionate champion” of literacy and literature. “Her Majesty is all over it, her Royal Reading Room is absolutely magnificent,” she said.

The nominees will be judged by writer Yesi Edugyan, who was twice shortlisted for the Booker Prize and is the chairman of the 2023 jury.

Edugyan will be joined by actor, writer and director Adjoa Andoh, poet, lecturer, editor and critic Mary Jean Chan, Columbia University professor of English and comparative literature and Shakespeare scholar James Shapiro, and actor and writer Robert Webb.

The judges select the best work of fiction, selected from works published in the UK and Ireland between 1 October 2022 and 30 September 2023.

The winner will receive £50,000 and the six shortlisted authors will receive £2,500 each.

In 2022, the Queen presented an award to Sri Lankan writer Shehan Karunatilaka for his book The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida.

This year’s winner will be announced at Old Billingsgate, London on 26 November 2023.

It comes after Queen Camilla joined King Charles at a lavish state banquet in honor of the South Korean president and first lady on Tuesday.

Camilla wore an exquisite scarlet ensemble as she and Charles hosted a lavish state banquet in honor of the President and First Lady of South Korea this evening.

A member of the royal family paid tribute to his late mother-in-law when she sourced Queen Elizabeth’s magnificent ruby ​​and diamond Burmese tiara for a lavish event at Buckingham Palace in London.

The late monarch’s ruby ​​and diamond tiara was made in the 1970s from gems sourced from the Nizam of Hyderabad tiara given to her as a wedding gift.

It was paired with Camilla’s red velvet evening dress by Fiona Clare, which featured a relaxed silhouette, flowing sleeves and a pleated skirt. She styled her blonde locks into her signature style, opting for dewy peach makeup.

Both she and the Princess of Wales sported stunning jewelery tonight, with Kate, 41, wearing the late Queen Mother’s eye-catching Strathmore Rose tiara, which has not been worn in public for decades.

The pair was also paired with a yellow brooch on the chest, which depicted a portrait of a young Queen Elizabeth II in an evening gown with the ribbon and star of the Order of the Garter.

The brooches are a sign that the wearer has become a member of the Order of the Royal Family, an honor bestowed by the monarch on female members of the Firm.