The Queen launches National Literacy Trust's Coronation Libraries
Published
On Her Majesty's first solo engagement since the Coronation, The Queen was welcomed to Shirehampton Primary School in Bristol to launch the first of 50 Coronation Libraries, created by the National Literacy Trust.

In celebration of Their Majesties' Coronation, the National Literacy Trust's Coronation Libraries Project celebrates the role that The Queen has played in supporting literacy projects and encouraging young people to embrace reading from a young age. The project also highlights the vital importance of primary school libraries in developing a life-long love of reading.

Created across the UK in 2023 and 2024 in collaboration with Primary School Library Alliance, the Coronation libraries and reading spaces will be established in communities with low levels of literacy, where the cost-of-living crisis is biting hardest and children are least likely to have books at home.
Each library or reading space will be refurbished, restocked and two members of staff will be trained to manage it and deliver a range of reading activities for the whole school. In addition, a commemorative Coronation plaque will be placed in each library.
Shirehampton Primary School’s new Coronation library is also the 500th library to be transformed as part of the Primary School Library Alliance campaign – a unique cross-sector, multi-partnership collaboration that is addressing the issue of library provision in primary schools across the UK.

Joined by children's authors and illustrators Cressida Cowell, Malorie Blackman, Francesca Simon, Jasbinder Bilan and Rob Biddulph, Her Majesty took part in engaging literacy-based activities with pupils - including a reading of Horrid Henry meets The Queen in Shirehampton's new Coronation Library, and a special draw-along of Queen Mary's Crown.
Her Majesty was also presented with the 'Coronation Collection', a selection of 23 books voted for by over 12,000 children across the UK in celebration of the Coronation before unveiling a plaque to officially open the space.
Related content

A speech by The Queen in celebration of the 30th anniversary of The Women's Prize for Fiction, Bedford Square
Careers have been launched, bestsellers have flown off the shelves into the hands and hearts of the public, and each year you distribute 3,000 books to people in need. And you...





State Visit by The President of the French Republic and Mrs Brigitte Macron








A speech by Her Majesty The Queen at a Reception to mark the launch of The Queen’s Reading Room Medal
Making life better is the ultimate aim of my Reading Room. We believe that books make for a happier, healthier and more connected society.
A speech by Her Majesty The Queen at a Reception to celebrate the 15th anniversary of WOW (Women of the World)
Without fail, wherever WOW gathers, I have met the most extraordinary and impressive women who have, quite simply, refused to take ‘no’ for an answer.









A speech by Her Majesty The Queen at a reception, hosted by the Anne Frank Trust, to mark Holocaust Memorial Day
Let’s unite in our commitment to take action, to speak up and to ensure that the words “Never Forget” are a guiding light that charts a path towards a better, brighter, and...


A message from The King to the people of Glasgow celebrating the city’s 850th anniversary.
It goes without saying that people really do make Glasgow. As one of the most diverse cities in Scotland and beyond, it is entirely fitting that the celebrations to mark this...






A speech by Her Majesty The Queen at a reception for winners of The Queen's Commonwealth Essay Competition 2024 at Buckingham Palace
Thanks to your talents, your readers are taken on amazing journeys with you across the Commonwealth, from Gambia to Grenada, from Bangladesh to Botswana, from Malta to...
The Queen is presented an Honorary Doctorate of Literature by The Princess Royal
21 November 2024

Her Majesty The Queen’s speech to the CHOGM Women’s Forum
Leaders from around the globe are willing to meet, as equals, and to have difficult, and constructive, conversations.
