Our Patron HRH The Duchess of Cornwall visited women’s prison HMP Styal in Cheshire last week to find out more about how prisoners' lives are being transformed by rehabilitation initiatives, including our Books Unlocked programme.
The Duchess visited The Clink restaurant where she heard from a number of prisoners earning NVQs in food service and preparation, as well as meeting with prisoners taking part in education and literacy projects.
Books Unlocked , run in partnership with The Booker Prize Foundation and National Prison Radio, brings Man Booker Prize-shortlisted titles into prisons and young offender institutions. We provide free copies of shortlisted titles for prisoners, which are then serialised on National Prison Radio. Where possible, authors also visit book groups and record interviews for the radio show. Books Unlocked has been delivered in HMP Styal since 2015, with the group reading Life of Pi by Yann Martel most recently.
Whilst visiting HMP Styal, HRH The Duchess of Cornwall met with two prisoners who present programmes on National Prison Radio and were covering the royal visit for the radio station. Her Royal Highness also heard about Straightline, National Prison Radio’s voice on the outside, supporting people as they leave prison.