Royal blue! Queen Camilla is elegant in Fiona Clare dress as she hosts Booker Prize Foundation Reception at Clarence House

Queen Camilla looked elegant in royal blue as she held a reception for the Booker Prize Foundation at Clarence House today.

Camilla, 76, re-wore a Fiona Clare dress, which she has worn on a number of occasions, to host the annual event. 

Her Majesty met with guests, past winners and the authors shortlisted for this year's Booker Prize, ahead of the announcement of the 2023 winner.

She appeared in good spirits, beaming as she spoke to a number of guests, including author Paul Harding, who is nominated for The Other Eden.

The royal elevated her ensemble with extravagant bracelets and necklaces by Van Cleef & Arpels, as well as statement gold drop earrings.

Camilla showcased a glowing make-up look, incorporating peach-coloured lipstick, while her signature blonde locks were styled into a glamorous bob.

Her Majesty's demure dress was created especially for her by British couturier, Fiona Clare. The vibrant design featured a fit-and-flare silhouette, incorporating a notch neckline, sculpting darts and sophisticated midi-length. 

The Queen declared herself 'very jealous' of the forthcoming Booker Prize winner as she was given their trophy for 'safe keeping'.

At a reception at Clarence House today for authors shortlisted for the 2023 award, as well as guests and former winners, Camilla accepted 'The Iris' and thanked them for enriching people's lives.

'I wish this was being given to me. I am very jealous of the person who is going to pick it up on Sunday and wish you all the best of luck,' she said.

In an off-the-cuff speech she added: 'I wanted to say thank you to all the writers who enhance our lives. We couldn't do without you all.

'As I have always said, reading is an escapism. Whatever is happening in your life and you feel it is difficult to cope with, you can pick up a book and just go off into another world.

'If it wasn't for all of you and all the people and the publishers and the agents that help put your books on the map, it would be a very sad world. So thank you all very much indeed.'

First awarded in 1969, the Booker Prize is the world's most significant award for the best sustained work of fiction written in English by authors from anywhere in the world and published in the UK and Ireland.

This year's winner will be announced from a shortlist of six in London on Sunday night.

The shortlisted titles and authors for are: Sarah Bernstein for Study for Obedience; Jonathan Escoffery for If I Survive You; Paul Lynch for Prophet Song; Paul Harding for The Other Eden; Chetna Maroo for Western Lane; and Paul Murray for The Bee Sting.

Sir Ben Okri gave a stirring speech about the 'magic' of the Booker prize and in praise of the 'vital force' of literature.

He likened the Prize to a 'fairytale' being enacted and described Camilla as 'its Queen'.

Describing the Booker Prize as a 'gift' given to the world each year, he said: 'People might argue about the nature or the quality of that gift but nothing changes the fact that a gift has been given and that a powerful ritual has been enacted.

'We have indeed been fortunate to have a queen who loves reading and who also champions the right of writers to write freely and unfettered. For a fairytale is not an unreal fact taking place in a real world, it is a transformative act taking place in a resistant world. Magic is only possible because reality is hard.

'Out of the suffering of the world, out of the irresolvable conflicts, out of wars and injustice and grief and inequality, we are taken through the ritual of choice. We are meant to look beneath the surface of six books and make the choice of the one that perhaps most resonates with the time and gives us the highest pleasures, of the most excellent story filtered through the richest or most truthful language.

'Someone defined genius not as one necessarily having intelligence that is superior to the rest of us, but as one who through the labyrinth of their work can make the right and the highest choice.

'Literature is about choices, about consequences, about outcomes. Great story telling reminds us that we have to effect a difficult transformation in a resistant world. In a world of things and beings that do not want to change. But the forces of change are operating with unavoidable inevitability.

'We are part of a small galaxy of people who believe that the word redeems. I am called upon to salute you all… Whatever is happening in the world let us not lose sight of the essential fairytale which is a point of light in the dark energy of it all. Millions of other points of light are touched by the threads of stories you shape that connect us all in this great story of living. '

Guest and previous Booker Prize winner Dame Penelope Lively said it was 'wonderful' that the Queen was such a champion for literacy.

Camilla has been a huge champion of literacy in the UK and internationally since she joined the Royal Family and even set up her own online 'Reading Room' which has gone on to attract over 160,000 followers.

Gaby Wood, chief executive of the Booker Prize Foundation, described the Queen as someone who is a 'passionate champion' of literacy and literature. 'Her Majesty is all about that, her Royal Reading Room is so glorious,' she said.

The nominees will be judged by novelist Esi Edugyan, twice-shortlisted for the Booker Prize, who is the chair of the 2023 panel. 

Edugyan will be joined by actor, writer and director Adjoa Andoh, poet, lecturer, editor and critic Mary Jean Chan, Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University and Shakespeare specialist James Shapiro, and actor and writer Robert Webb.

The judges are looking for the best work of long-form fiction, selected from entries published in the UK and Ireland, between 1 October 2022 and 30 September 2023.

The winner will receive £50,000, while the six shortlisted authors will each be given £2,500.

The Queen presented the award to Sri Lankan writer Shehan Karunatilaka for The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida in 2022.

This year's winner will be announced at Old Billingsgate, London, on 26 November 2023.

It comes after Queen Camilla joined King Charles at a lavish State Banquet for South Korea's President and First Lady on Tuesday.

Camilla sported a sophisticated scarlet ensemble as she and Charles hosted a glitzy State Banquet for the President and First Lady of South Korea tonight.

The royal paid tribute to her late mother-in-law as she unearthed Queen Elizabeth's magnificent ruby and diamond Burmese tiara for the lavish event at Buckingham Palace in London.

The late monarch's ruby and diamond tiara was made in the 1970s from gems that originated from the Nizam of Hyderabad tiara, which was given to her as wedding gift.

It matched Camilla's red velvet evening dress by Fiona Clare, which featured a relaxed silhouette with flowing sleeves and a pleated skirt. She styled her blonde tresses into a signature style, opting for dewy, peachy make-up.

Both she and the Princess of Wales sported stunning jewellery tonight, as Kate, 41, donned the late Queen Mother's eye-catching Strathmore Rose tiara, which hasn't been worn in public for many decades.

The pair also matched with yellow brooch pinned on their chest, which featured a portrait of a young Queen Elizabeth II wearing an evening dress with a ribbon and star of the Order of the Garter.

The brooches are a sign that the wearer has been made a part of the Royal Family Order, an honour gifted to female members of the Firm by the monarch.