Princess Beatrice has revealed that reading Harry Potter books when she was a young girl helped her overcome her dyslexia.The eldest daughter of Prince Andrew and Sarah, Duchess of York, said that having dyslexia meant that she had struggled to read books before discovering JK Rowling's bestselling books.The Queen's granddaughter described how the first novel in the series, titled Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, instilled a love of reading and that "from then on, I couldn't put the books down".
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According to The Telegraph, the princess, 24, made the comments in a video message recorded for the literary festival Get Reading Festival, due to be held in central London next week.In the video, Beatrice reads a four minute extract from the bestselling novel. "I thought I would tell you a little story about why reading is so important to me and why we need to get more young people reading in London," Beatrice says as she introduces the reading. "When I was younger I was diagnosed with dyslexia which meant, for me, sitting in front of a book was really hard - until I discovered Harry Potter, and this character, this 11-year-old boy, who suddenly gets off to school for the first time, captured my imagination and suddenly reading was fun. Reading was inspiring and I was motivated. From then on and then, I couldn't put the books down."
The princess, who has eight GCSEs, three A-levels and a history degree under her belt, also describes the novel as "one of my favourite books" and "the book that got me reading".In April, the young royal was announced as the Helen Arkell Dyslexia Centre's royal patron, a role Beatrice was proud to accept. "I am greatly honoured to become Patron of The Helen Arkell Dyslexia Cantre," she said. " I have benefitted hugely from their work and I am looking forward to supporting them in giving a chance to others to benefit from their experience and teaching. "I would not have been able to achieve my academic results without the support I received from the centre. "Bernadette McLean, principal of the HADC, was clearly thrilled by Beatrice's new official role. "Princess Beatrice will be a great ambassador for the centre and a wonderful role model for all our dyslexics, young and old. Her experiences mean that she has a clear understanding how appropriate support can help dyslexics fulfill their potential."