The Roald Dahl Charitable Trust is Pleased to Announce that The Duchess of Cornwall is to be Patron of Roald Dahl 100
(PRWEB) February 16, 2016 -- Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cornwall is to be Patron of Roald Dahl 100 – a year of global celebrations marking 100 years since the birth of Roald Dahl.
The Duchess began her new role with a visit to London’s Southbank Centre, which has just launched an interactive experience, THE WONDERCRUMP WORLD OF ROALD DAHL, created in partnership with the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff, and featuring archival treasures from The Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre in Great Missenden.
Her Royal Highness had a special tour of the WONDERCRUMP experience, in the company of Felicity Dahl (Roald Dahl’s wife), Luke Kelly (Managing Director of Roald Dahl’s Literary Estate and Roald Dahl’s grandson), “Willy Wonka” (in the personage of Jonathan Slinger from the hit West End musical of CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY) and a number of “Mini Festival Makers” who help curate Southbank Centre’s Imagine Children’s Festival.
The Duchess then joined “Miss Honey” (actress Catherine Scott from the RSC’s London cast of MATILDA THE MUSICAL) on the stage in the Clore Ballroom, where Her Royal Highness read a chapter from THE BFG to an audience of children.
Next stop was the “Dream Jar making station” – one of the special activities running during Imagine Children’s Festival (February 10th – 21st), where the Duchess, along with Felicity and Luke, were all encouraged by the children to bottle their dreams, just like The BFG!
Her Royal Highness concluded her visit by meeting a number of “Friends of Roald Dahl 100”, including his publishers, the producers of the two hit stage musicals inspired by Dahl stories, the team behind the forthcoming THE BFG movie, official biographer Donald Sturrock, representatives of the Reading Agency, Literature Wales, the National Literacy Trust, Wales Millennium Centre, the Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre, Roald Dahl’s Marvellous Children’s Charity, and Jude Kelly, Artistic Director of Southbank Centre, and her team.
Luke Kelly, MD of Roald Dahl’s Literary Estate and Roald Dahl’s grandson says: “We are absolutely delighted – or HOPSCOTCHY as The BFG might say – that Her Royal Highness has agreed to be Patron of the Roald Dahl 100 celebrations this year. With the Duchess having such a deep interest in literacy herself, we share a common goal: getting as many children as possible to be inspired by reading. The Roald Dahl 100 year has got off to a fantastic start with this glorious exhibition but be prepared for many more surprises and treats along the way!”
PHOTOS FROM THE DUCHESS OF CORNWALL’S VISIT ARE AVAILABLE FROM THE ROYAL ROTA.
ABOUT ROALD DAHL 100:
2016 marks 100 years since the birth of Roald Dahl. There will be celebrations for Roald Dahl 100 throughout 2016, delivering a year packed with gloriumptious treats and squiffling surprises for everyone:
• Publishing highlights include the special repackaging of the following Roald Dahl novels, available in US stores now:
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory , Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator, The BFG, Matilda, The Witches, James and the Giant Peach, The Twits, Fantastic Mr. Fox, George’s Marvelous Medicine, Danny the Champion of the World, The Magic Finger, Esio Trot, Boy, Going Solo, and The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me.
• This Summer will see the global release of the big screen adaptation of Roald Dahl’s THE BFG, directed by Steven Spielberg, and key new publications including The BFG movie tie-in edition featuring a cover with special film art, The BFG Mad Libs, also featuring art from the film, The BFG’s Gloriumptous Journal, featuring Quentin Blake art, and The Big Friendly Doodle Book, featuring Quentin Blake art as well.
• The fall will feature special releases of new collectible hardcover editions including Matilda, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator, Fantastic Mr. Fox, and James and the Giant Peach.
• On September 13th – Roald Dahl’s birthday - schools, libraries, bookshops and community groups across the world will join in the biggest ever celebration of Roald Dahl Day.
• For more information, please visit http://www.roalddahl.com/roalddahl100.
ABOUT ROALD DAHL AND HIS LEGACY:
Roald Dahl was a spy, ace fighter-pilot, chocolate historian and medical inventor. He was also the author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, The BFG and many more brilliant stories.
Born in Cardiff of Norwegian descent, Roald Dahl (1916–1990) joined the RAF at the age of 23 and began writing, initially for adults, after being injured in a plane crash during WW2.
Sitting in a hut at the bottom of his garden, surrounded by odd bits and pieces such as a suitcase (used as a footrest), his own hipbone (which he’d had replaced) and a heavy ball of metal foil (made from years’ worth of chocolate wrappers), he went on to write some of the world’s best-loved children’s stories. His first children’s story, James and the Giant Peach, was published in 1961, was a hit and every subsequent book became a best-seller.
Today, his stories are available in 58 languages and, by a conservative estimate, he has sold more than 200 million books. Many of these stories have also been adapted for stage and screen, including the 1971 film classic Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, Wes Anderson’s acclaimed Fantastic Mr Fox, and the multi-award winning Matilda The Musical from the RSC with music by Tim Minchin. The next Roald Dahl story to hit the big screen will be Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of The BFG, which is set for release in July 2016.
2016 marks Roald Dahl’s centenary. Entitled Roald Dahl 100, 2016 marks 100 years since the birth of Roald Dahl – the world’s number one storyteller. There will be celebrations for Roald Dahl 100 throughout 2016, delivering a year packed with gloriumptious treats and surprises for everyone.
Roald Dahl said, “If you have good thoughts they will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely.”
We believe in doing good things. That’s why ten percent of all Roald Dahl income* goes to our charity partners. We have supported causes including: specialist children’s nurses, grants for families in need, and educational outreach programmes.
Find out more at roalddahl.com.
The Roald Dahl Charitable Trust is a registered UK charity (no. 1119330).
- All author payments and royalty income net of third party commissions.
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Don’t forget to hashtag #roalddahl100 and to link to http://www.roalddahl.com!
“Watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it.”
Roald Dahl, THE MINPINS
For further information, please contact:
Elena Stokes, Wunderkind PR
elena [at] wunderkind-pr [dot] com
917-887-0784
Elena Stokes, Wunderkind PR, http://wunderkind-pr.com/, +1 (917) 887-0784, [email protected]
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