Queen Camilla welcomed Peter Rabbit to Clarence House today to celebrate the milestone anniversary of the BookTrust charity.
The fictional children's character arrived at her London residence on Tuesday to mark the 100th anniversary of the UK's largest children's reading charity, of which Her Majesty is patron.
The Queen, 78, seemed to be in high spirits, as she beamed alongside Peter Rabbit, who was wearing a BookTrust sash along with his famous blue waistcoat for the A-list literary reception.
Queen Camilla also greeted friends and supporters of BookTrust, including the President of the organisation, Sir Michael Morpurgo; Children's Laureate Frank Cottrell-Boyce, and authors Dame Floella Benjamin, Richard Osman, Sir Philip Pullman, Dame Julia Donaldson, and Malorie Blackman.
Introduced to the large-than-life animal, Camilla enthusiastically shook his hand and happily posed for pictures with the famous rabbit from Beatrix Potter's story books.
It was a fitting tribute to the charity that has provided a book from the series for every child in the UK before their first birthday through their programme Bookstart Baby.
This year's book, a brand new Peter Rabbit title called Four Happy Bunnies, has been created exclusively for the scheme.
It will be gifted to around half a million babies and their families across the UK to encourage them to start reading as part of BookTrust's collaboration with publisher Penguin Random House Children's.
Queen Camilla was also seen chatting to Thursday Murder Club author Richard Osman to mark the 100th anniversary of BookTrust.
In an off-the-cuff speech, Camilla spoke about how society needs to encourage young people more than ever to read, given the march of modern technology.
Cutting a cake, she added: 'Can I say happy 100th birthday to everybody involved in BookTrust?
'I wouldn't be standing here now if I hadn't been read to as a child. We were read to by my father every night and it just shows how important it is. It's lodged in my very small brain forevermore.
'But the job you are doing is ensuring that a great deal of children are going to have the same experience and enjoy reading all their lives.
'Especially in this day of phones, a lot of children aren't reading as much as they should be. The statistics show it is even more important now to start them at an early age and get them reading all the way through their lives.'
Queen Camilla put her best fashion foot forward for the event and donned a long-sleeved navy blue embroidered dress with sheer tights and black pointed kitten heels.
She wore her blonde tresses in her signature wavy blowdry and paired her look with chic pearl drop earrings and her blue Van Cleef & Arpels clover bracelet.
Sir Michael said of her involvement: 'It's huge. The one thing books have always struggled with are getting supporters in the right place. And you can't get any higher than a head of state.'
The royal was seen shaking hands with the children's character at the milestone literature event today.
Sir Michael Morpurgo was seen holding up a pile of books inside Clarence House today.
Queen Camilla was snapped engaging in conversation with Lady Clare Morpurgo during the reception.
Camilla also spoke to Ann Graham from the Association of Directors of Children Services.
The royal beamed as she laughed with children's author Nadia Shireen at the reception today.
Queen Camilla with Diana Gerald and Annie Crombie (right) were pictured celebrating the centenary of BookTrust.
'The two of them have been hugely supportive of the important things in life, whether it is the environment or literature. They fight the good fight and I really appreciate that. It's really good for the country because they realise those two people care about our lives.
'It also helps hugely with children's' literature particularly. The Queen has really taken it to heart.
'She loved books when she was young and she has chosen to focus her enthusiasm on this. We have someone is who our champion and fight the cause. And we need that both here and in the government.
'She is not backwards in coming forward with what she thinks and people respect that. We have a great champion on our side.'
Speaking about the importance of getting children to read from a young age in the face of technology, he said: 'Nowadays there is always something more immediate that's the problem.
'It has to happen when they are very young. I am lucky enough to be a father, a grandfather and a great-grandfather. I have seen it through the generations. And one thing I know for sure is that if mum and dad read a book to a one-year-old child and read often enough, then that book becomes a conduit between them.
'Something they share together. And when you share something with someone you love most in the world, that imprints itself on you when you’re growing up and it’s easier to then for a teacher later on to introduce other books. If you have that regular sowing of the seed, then it’s so important.'
The War Horse author said his own mother read to him and his brother 'religiously' every night.
'She was wonderful but when I went to school, books suddenly became a worry because they were all about learning and spelling tests. And, in those days, you got stood in the corner, which was deeply humiliating; that put me off.
'I was lucky; I had one or two teachers who resuscitated what my mother had set going.'
He added: 'We exaggerate the perils of technology too much. When I was a child they said television would kill literature. It goes through phases of being more popular and less popular.
'These things distract; we have always had distractions. But we have BookTrust who have been here for 100 years and seen parents and teachers through all these things. We shouldn't lose heart.
'We have some of the best writers we have ever had. We need to focus on parents who start the habit going.'
As an avid reader, the Queen has a strong interest in highlighting the importance of literacy.
She became Patron of BookTrust in 2011, succeeding the late Duke of Edinburgh.
Alongside their book-gifting programmes, BookTrust works across the UK with partners from libraries and schools to local authorities and community hubs to provide advice and resources designed to encourage reading, aiming to embed it as a core part of early childhood.