Queen Camilla surprises fans at Women’s Prize book event

Queen Camilla made an unexpected appearance at a bookish bash in London, and the literary crowd couldn’t believe their eyes.

The 77-year-old royal showed up unannounced at a 30th anniversary celebration for the Women’s Prize for Fiction in Bloomsbury, where she praised the award for “transforming the literary landscape for women.” 

Her Majesty mingled with shortlisted authors, including Fundamentally writer Nussaibah Younis, who joked that the competition was so fierce “the Champagne glasses are spiked.”

Camilla also reunited with Girl, Woman, Other author Bernardine Evaristo, recipient of this year’s Outstanding Contribution Award, and browsed a Waterstones pop-up where the bar stayed open late for author signings. “Quite right,” she quipped.

In a warm speech delivered from the Woolf tent, Camilla hailed the Prize for putting “the female voice at the centre of the literary world,” adding: “Careers have been launched, bestsellers have flown off the shelves… you’ve transformed the literary landscape for women.”

The 2025 Women’s Prize winner will be announced tomorrow.

RELATED: Queen Camilla receives new honour after key decision related to Harry rift