A literary dinner for the Queen Consort in Braemar

HM The Queen Consort attended a dinner at The Fife Arms hotel last Friday to mark the launch of the first-ever Braemar Literary Festival.

Ewan Venters, Artfarm CEO and Her Majesty The Queen Consort (all photos: Sim Canetty-Clark)

The three-day event was held in the Highland village in collaboration with The Reading Room, the book club founded by HM The Queen Consort as The Duchess of Cornwall. The Reading Room is a hub for literary communities around the world, celebrating literature in all its forms.

The Braemar Literary Festival explored the creative use of words and text in their broadest sense; celebrating the works of bestselling authors alongside visual artists, spoken word performers, singer songwriters, scriptwriters, critics and publishers alike, reflecting the many ways in which the ’literary’ creatively enhances our lives.

The dinner was cooked by Chef Angela Hartnett, OBE and was attended by participants of the festival, including Scottish writes Ian Rankin, poet Jackie Kay CBE, FRSE, FRSL, former Makar of Scotland who read out her poem, “Between The Dee and The Don” ; Sam Leith, Literary Editor of The Spectator magazine; novelist Sebastian Faulks CBE; biographer Justine Picardie and actress Anna Friel.

Scottish poet and writer Jackie Kay CBE with Her Majesty The Queen Consort (Sim Canetty-Clark)

The festival also featured a wide range of free workshops, literary walks and a pop-up ‘Poem & A Pint’ programme in the village. This inaugural festival was an exciting event bringing together the Braemar village community, guests of The Fife Arms, The Reading Room and lovers of literature everywhere.