Actress Helena Bonham Carter leads guest list of Queen Camilla's Reading Room festival - this is who else is lined up

Camilla’s event builds on the success of last year’s literary festival, which had more than 8,000 visitors in the first year it was organised at Hampton Court Palace.

During the day, Oscar-nominat ed actress Bonham Carter, 57, will join William Sieghart for a live version of his BBC Radio 4 show Poetry Pharmacy as they explore the art form along with friends.

The programme also sees Margolyes take to the stage along with other guests to explore the characters of Charles Dickens’ novels from orphan Oliver Twist to Great Expectations’ wealthy spinster Miss Havisham and David Copperfield’s housekeeper Clara Peggotty.

Margolyes was “terribly upset” at not being cast in the BBC’s Dickensian, which explores various characters from the 19th century novelist’s books.

The 82-year-old actress has fronted the documentary Dickens In America and had a one-woman show about his world called Dickens’ Women.

Also headlining the Queen’s Reading Room festival are the authors Sir Ian Rankin, Ann Cleeves, Lee Child, Elif Shafak, Kate Mosse, Mick Herron and Harlan Coben.

Sir Ian Rankin will be in conversation with his fellow mystery writers, Cleeves and Child, to talk about how to construct the “perfect crime”.

The Queen’s Reading Room chief executive Vicki Perrin said: “Last year’s Queen’s Reading Room festival was a joyous occasion .

“We can’t wait to replicate it again this year and build on our success with a brilliant programme of stellar international authors and performances from much-loved actors.”

Mosse will present a one-woman show about women during war and Shafak will speak about her latest novel There Are Rivers In The Sky.

Fool Me Once executive producer Coben and Herron, whose works were adapted into A pple+ series Slow Horses will be in conversation.

The Queen’s Reading Room festiv al is o n June 8.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​