Queen Camilla Visits Charles Dickens' London Home

A century after opening its doors for the first time, the Charles Dickens Museum has welcomed Her Majesty The Queen to Dickens’s first family home at 48 Doughty Street, Bloomsbury, London.  

The Queen is an admirer of Charles Dickens and names A Tale of Two Cities and A Christmas Carol among her favourite books.

Her Majesty was greeted yesterday at Dickens’ distinctive original red front door by Cindy Sughrue, Director of the Museum, and Mark Dickens, great-great grandson of Dickens and head of the Dickens family. Once inside, having met the Museum’s Deputy Director, Frankie Kubicki, and Lucinda Dickens-Hawksley, great-great-great granddaughter of Dickens, The Queen moved upstairs to the study where Dickens wrote The Pickwick Papers, Oliver Twist and Nicholas Nickleby. 

Inside, The Queen saw the desk at which Dickens wrote Great Expectations, A Tale of Two Cities and Our Mutual Friend and met actor and Museum Patron Simon Callow, who gave a reading of the arrival of the ghost of Jacob Marley from A Christmas Carol. In the adjoining Drawing Room, where Dickens often continued to write while his children played, The Queen chatted with actress and Museum Patron Miriam Margolyes, who read, with Simon Callow a selection of letters from Charles Dickens.

“While the family lived here, Charles Dickens shot to fame and welcomed the leading figures of the day into his home for parties and celebrations," said Cindy Sughrue. "We are very pleased to continue that tradition.”

While at the Museum, The Queen met exhibition curator Emma Harper and toured the new exhibition, Dickens in Doughty Street: 100 Years of the Charles Dickens Museum, a celebration of the life of Dickens and the Museum which runs until June 29. The Queen also met a number of Museum staff, volunteers and trustees, as well as other members of the Dickens family, including great-great-great grandson, actor Ollie Dickens.

Earlier in the week Her Majesty, joined by The King, hosted a reception to mark the launch of The Queen's Reading Room Medal at Clarence House with a range of authors and members of the literary community celebrating the ongoing work of The Queen’s Reading Room and its mission to encourage more people to read. The new medal is designed to recognise individuals who are championing books and storytelling in their local communities. "Making life better is the ultimate aim of my Reading Room," she said. "We believe that books make for a happier, healthier and more connected society."

In celebration of the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen's birth, a small selection of items from Jane Austen House and the Royal Collection Trust relating to the author were also present for guests to view.