Queen has wizard day out with Harry Potter
( 2001-03-23 17:03 ) (7 )

Britain's Queen Elizabeth had a wizard day out on Thursday with Harry Potter.

And after meeting the creator of the teenage sorcerer, the 74-year-old monarch confessed to JK Rowling how she had loved to read as a child.

The Queen, on a "theme day" with the four billion pound ($5.68 billion) British publishing industry that employs 36,000 people, met Rowling at the London offices of publisher Bloomsbury Plc whose fortunes have soared with Potter's worldwide success.

Rowling's rumbustious tales of Potter's childhood at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry have sold more than 60 million copies in 200 countries.

Publishers have hailed her global triumph, claiming that she has singlehandedly taught a whole new generation of children the joys of reading in the age of the computer.

The queen revealed: "I was a voracious reader when I was a child. It stood me in good stead because I read quite quickly now and I have to read a lot."

She also confessed that the Potter books were popular with her grandchildren. Her granddaughter, Princess Eugenie, celebrates her 11th birthday on Friday.

Speaking about the Potter books, Queen Elizabeth said: "I am told that children have started to read them. They are certainly popular with one of my grandchildren."

For Rowling, a 35-year-old single mother who wrote her bestsellers in an Edinburgh cafe, it was her second encounter with royalty in a month.

Rowling, currently writing the fifth book in the hugely popular series, received an Order of the British Empire award from the queen's son, heir-to-the-throne Prince Charles, for services to children's literature.

Reflecting on publishing's big day in the spotlight, Rowling said: "From my point of view, I hope today is about children's publishing which is sometimes a poor relation -- and that's a shame.

"He (Prince Charles) knows the books well and likes them. I would like to think other members of the Royal Family would also like them."

Harry Potter is currently making the transition to the silver screen with child actor Daniel Radcliffe playing the young wizard. The film is due out in November.

Fans in the United States will see "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" but the British version will retain the book's original book title of "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone."

(Agencies)