Queen Camilla found herself immortalised as a cartoon character in the legendary Beano today – and admitted she was a long-time fan of its naughty hero, Dennis the Menace.
The royal was presented with the comic strip during an engagement in Edinburgh to publicise the ‘National Year of Reading’.
She appeared delighted to see herself in print alongside the 75-year-old literary star.
The cartoon version of the Queen can be seen coming to the rescue of the mischievous Dennis after he was told off by his mother for reading a comic in a library while wearing headphones.
Outlining the ‘new rules’ of reading in the comic, Queen Camilla tells Dennis and his pet dog Gnasher: ‘Go all in for the National Year of Reading, Dennis! Comics and audiobooks count too!’
It comes as King Charles raised a toast during his first engagement of the year today – sipping from a £1,800 bottle of Lowland Single Malt Scotch Whisky.
The monarch, 77, enjoyed a dram of the award-winning tipple as he hosted a reception marking the Scotland Investment Forum.
Meanwhile Camilla, who was three-years-old when Dundee-based publisher DC Thomson created Dennis the Menace in 1951, told pupils from Granton Primary School in Edinburgh: ‘I was brought up on the Beano, too. It’s been going a long time.’
Britain’s Queen Camilla visits the National Library of Scotland, Edinburgh, to mark the launch of the National Year of Reading in Scotland
Camilla holds the framed Beano comic strip featuring herself which was presented to her during the visit
King Charles tastes whisky from Ian MacLeod Distillers during a reception to mark the Scotland Investment Forum
Looking at the flattering picture of herself in the cartoon, Camilla, 78, also joked: ‘I wish!’
Mike Stirling, a storyboard creator and ‘director of mischief’ at The Beano, told the children: ‘A lot of people don’t know that [comics and audiobooks count as reading] so if the queen says that, how good is that?
‘The mum [of Dennis] is all embarrassed that Dennis is pals with the Queen.’
During her visit to the National Library of Scotland, Camilla, who has been patron of the National Literacy Trust since 2010, was keen to highlight the slogan ‘Go All In’.
It is designed to encourage everybody to develop a habit for reading, even if it is just for five minutes a day.
In November, a landmark research paper from the National Literacy Trust argued that everything from scanning song lyrics to listening to audiobooks can now be classed as reading.
Joining a round table discussion to discuss the campaign, the Queen asked how many libraries had closed recently, and was told 54 libraries in Scotland had closed since 2014.
Speaking about the national campaign to encourage more people to read, she said: ‘Just to get everybody reading again, especially now, is so important. The battle against these machines. Get them back to books.’
Camilla was later given the opportunity to try her hand at drawing Dennis the Menace and Gnasher alongside a group of school children from Clovenstone Primary School, following a brief tutorial from Nigel Auchterlounie, an artist at Beano Studios.
Jonathan Douglas, the chief executive of the National Literacy Trust, told the queen that her drawings were ‘spectacular’ and joked to Auchterlounie: ‘Are you worried about your job?
‘I am, yes!’ the artist replied.
Queen Camilla greets some cartoon characters as she visits the library today
Camilla speaks with author Jackie Kay during a visit to National Library of Scotland
At the end of the engagement, Camilla met ambassadors and supporters of the literacy trust, including authors Sir Ian Rankin, Val McDermid, the Scottish crime writer, and Jackie Kay, a poet.
Speaking afterwards Kay said: ‘The Queen heard me talk at a Burn’s Night at Braemar two or three years ago when I told a joke about how a man in a kilt is enough to turn the head of the honest lesbian. She remembered and said ‘That made me laugh for ages!’.’
Following short speeches from David Hayman, Director of the National Year of Reading, Amina Shah, Chief Executive of the National Library of Scotland and Val McDermid, National Year of Reading ambassador, to celebrate the launch of the national reading campaign in Scotland, Queen Camilla posed with supporters and children for a picture on the library stairs.
She also shook hands with a life-sized Dennis the Menace and his side-kick, Gnasher.
Earlier, the Queen was shown a ceremonial golden key which has a tiny book at the head which was used by Queen Elizabeth II to officially open the building in 1956.
The National Library of Scotland celebrated its centenary last year but construction work on the building stalled during the second world war.
It was finally built after Sir Alexander Grant, the biscuit manufacturer who helped create the digestive biscuit for McVities, donated £100,000 to establish the National Library Scotland and a further £100,000 to help construct the building.
When she was shown a newspaper clipping about Grant’s donations, Camilla told Ralph McLean, manuscripts curator of the library that it was ‘a pity that there aren’t more people like Mr Grant.’
The National Literacy Trust has produced new analysis showing that in 2025, levels of reading enjoyment among children and young people aged 8-16 across the UK fell to their lowest in 20 years.
Only 1 in 3 (32.7 per cent ) said that they enjoyed reading in their free time, and just 1 in 5 (18.7 per cent) reported reading daily.
Fresh data released to coincide with the Queen’s visit showed that this figure was even lower when only Scotland was taken into consideration, with 3 in 10 young people saying that they enjoyed reading and only 1 in 6 read daily in their free time.
The Queen, patron of the Queen’s Reading Room, is hoping to urge more children to adopt the habit and encourage adults to take it up again.
Over the past 15 years, she has engaged with the charity’s work across the UK, with a particular focus on communities where poverty and low literacy are most seriously impacting people’s lives.
King Charles, Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes (R) and First Minister of Scotland John Swinney (C) sample whisky at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh
The event at the Palace Of Holyroodhouse celebrated Scotland’s entrepreneurial economy
Around 130 people from businesses were welcomed to an event attended by Charles at The Palace of Holyroodhouse, in Edinburgh, to celebrate Scottish entrepreneurialism.
John Swinney, First Minister of Scotland, and Kate Forbes, Deputy First Minister, were also present.
The whisky, from firm Rosebank, whose distillery is based in Falkirk, was first established in 1840 and won Best in Show award at the 2025 San Francisco World Spirits Competition.
A single dram like the one sipped by the King would cost £60.
Managing director Leonard Russell warned: ‘Be careful sir, it’s high strength.’
Before having a drink, Charles turned to John Swinney and said: ‘The terrible thing about it is, the photograph is never the most fetching.’
But he looked on approvingly and described the whisky having a ‘toffee’ flavour.
Charles recalled how he has visited distilleries on many occasions and recalled ‘banging in the bung’ – which is a process of hammering a plug into a barrel to seal it for aging or storage.
And joked he would be ‘dead long before’ the brew was ready to be enjoyed.
‘Many success stories. So proud,’ he added of those present, adding that he was very happy to help publicise their stories.
First Minister Swinney told him the day was about ‘bringing ideas together with investment.’
The King met local business leaders and joined a reception for 130 representatives from Scottish firms and investors
Charles also met local business leaders and joined a reception for 130 representatives from Scottish firms and investors in the Throne Room.
Speaking afterwards about the royal taste test, Mr Leonard said: ‘He didn’t look unhappy.’
He added: ‘He said it had a nose of toffee, which is what you get from long-aged whisky.
‘I think we are honoured that the King is bringing to attention businesses in Scotland, it’s a remarkable thing.’