Princess Beatrice has stepped out for an engagement close to her heart.
Prince Andrew’s eldest daughter visited West Thornton Primary School in Croydon earlier this week, as part of Oscar’s Book Club in association with Amazon Reading Volunteers.
The princess, 35, was photographed reading to pupils at the school, something she is incredibly passionate about.
Princess Beatrice is patron of Oscar’s Book Prize, supported by Amazon Books and the Evening Standard.
Princess Beatrice visited a school in Croydon to meet young students
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The Oscar’s Book Prize has previously described Beatrice’s support as “invaluable”, writing on its website: “Amazon is of course the supporter of the prize, along with the Evening Standard, and is lucky enough to have HRH Princess Beatrice as our patron.
“Their support remains invaluable.”
The mother-of-one read ‘When Dinosaurs Walked the Earth’ to the schoolchildren, the winning title of this year’s Oscar’s Book Prize.
The “page-turning” story was picked from a shortlist of five titles to win the prestigious £10,000 prize.
Princess Beatrice read with schoolchildren during her visit to Croydon
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The picture book, written by Sean Taylor and illustrated by Zehra Hicks, tells the story of a dinosaur called Smallasaurus.
Taylor said he was “honoured” to win and praised the other nominees for what they do “to keep bright-eyed reading alive”.
This year’s shortlist also included ‘Gina Kaminski Saves the Wolf’ by Craig Barr-Green and Francis Martin, ‘Geoffrey Gets The Jitters’ by Nadia Shireen, ‘Gigantic’ by Bob Biddulph and ‘The Hare-Shaped Hole’ by John Dougherty and Thomas Docherty.
Throughout April and May, Amazon has donated this year’s shortlist to schools and nurseries across the country via the Amazon Reading Volunteer network.
Princess Beatrice holding ‘When Dinosaurs Walked the Earth’ – winner of the Oscar’s Book Club
PA
Princess Beatrice is very passionate about reading
PA
Princess Beatrice visited West Thornton Primary School to support the network with a group reading session.
The award, now in its 11th year, was set up by James Ashton and Viveka Alvestrand in memory of their son Oscar who was three-and-a-half when he died from an undiagnosed heart condition.
It intends to celebrate the joy picture books bring to young children.