Duchess Camilla joins A-list celebrities for dramatic reading of children's books

After Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, another British royal has tried her hands at a dramatic book reading. Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, picked up "James and the Giant Peach" for the reading, in her role as the patron of the Roald Dahl's Marvellous Children's Charity.

Duchess Camilla, who became a patron of the charity in 2017, joined several other A-list celebrities- Oscar-winner Lupita Nyong'o, actor and comedian Josh Gad, and Academy-award winning filmmaker Taika Waititi to read the children's story in character.

For the reading, the 72-year-old played the role of the surprised Ship's Captain, who spots a Giant Peach fly by, and says: "Holy cats! Send a message to the Queen at once! The country must be warned!"

The British royal, who has often expressed her love for storytelling, told Taika Watiti before the reading: "I'm thrilled to do it, not that I'm much of an actor, but I shall do my best."

The dramatic reading was part of a collaboration between the Roald Dahl Story Company and Waititi, who are campaigning to support charities impacted by COVID-19 including Roald Dahl's Marvellous Children's Charity. The children's charity provides specialist nurses to seriously ill children in the UK, as well as Partners In Health, a global health non-profit organisation that supports public health systems in some of the most vulnerable communities around the world.

Meryl Streep, Benedict Cumberbatch, Chris and Liam Hemsworth and Ryan Reynolds are some of the famous names who have appeared to do dramatic reading in earlier episodes of the 10-episode series.

Luke Kelly, Managing Director of The Roald Dahl Story Company, said about the participation of the British royal in the series as "a very special moment in this campaign." "We feel so privileged to have her involvement – we know parents and children in lockdown all over the world are going to love this episode and we look forward to revealing further surprises in due course," Kelly said.

Camilla, who has been isolating with husband Prince Charles at their Birkhall residence in Scotland amid the coronavirus pandemic, said that she hopes the campaign will "raise vital funds to support those most in need at this very challenging time – as well as helping families and children currently in lockdown to find a moment of comfort through the joy of reading."