Duchess of Cornwall visits Shoreham Port set of ITV show Grace starring John Simm

Brighton-born author Peter James invited Camilla to visit the show’s set at Shoreham Port after discovering she had read all his booked ‘cover to cover’.

The pair had a conversation where they joked about the 74-year-old making a guest appearance in the TV adaptation of his Roy Grace stories, which is currently being shot at Shoreham Port and in and around Brighton.

Peter said he hoped it would will one day become a reality - and he has even written her into one of his new novels in the hope they could eventually film a scene.

He said: “I’m definitely going to make that happen. I joked about it but I think she might be up for it.

“Well funnily enough, in the latest book coming out next year. I have Norman Potting and Roy Grace both collecting a medal and having it presented by Prince Charles and her Highness.

“She gets herself a mention in the book so maybe we could film the actual scene.”

After having a chat with Peter, Camila took a seat in the producer’s chair to watch a scene being filmed for Dead Tomorrow, which is expected to be on screens next year.

Camilla was also joined in the production tent by Huw Kennair-Jones, drama commissioner for ITV, and John Simm, who plays Detective Sergeant Roy Grace.

Peter added: “I remember about seven years ago I had an email from a journalist friend, it had an attachment with a page in the Daily Mail.

“It was the Duchess sitting in her office and there was a whole row of Roy Grace novels behind and I just thought ‘Wow, that is amazing!’.

“I wrote her a note and she wrote back with a handwritten letter to say how much she enjoyed Roy Grace. We kept in contact and I dropped her a note about 18 months ago at the start of production to see if she would like to come and see the set. Lo and behold, she said she would love to come.”

The Duchess had to brave the cold winds of Shoreham Port this morning, but looked delighted to see one of her favourite books come to life on the screen in front of her.

She watched as DS Glen Branson, who is played by Richie Campbell, visited Shoreham Port as he searched for clues.

The Duchess even told the author that she would ‘like a cameo role one day’.

Peter, who has penned 19 Sunday Times number-one best-sellers, added: “She is such fun, totally down to earth. What astonishes me having just done a half-hour interview with her, she has got an absolute total recall of every detail in the book that even I had forgotten.”

The Duchess of Cornwall was also visiting for her Reading Room scheme – an Instagram community for book-lovers of all ages, abilities and backgrounds.

The Roy Grace series is among the book recommendations and will be featured in her Reading Room, which can be found on Instagram @DuchessofCornwallsReadingRoom