A speech by The Queen in celebration of the 30th anniversary of The Women's Prize for Fiction, Bedford Square

Ladies and several gentlemen, 

It is a huge pleasure to join you today as we celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Women’s Prize for Fiction and your three decades of championing outstanding writing by women. 

1995, when the Prize was created, was a significant year for women across the globe. The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was won by a woman; the Space Shuttle was, for the first time, piloted by a woman; and the first female mountaineer scaled Mount Everest alone, without the aid of supplementary oxygen or sherpas. 

However, things were slightly bleaker, however, on the literary front. Back then, 60% of novels in the UK were written by women, but made up just 9% of books shortlisted for major prizes. Faced with these figures, a brave and determined group, led by Kate Mosse, decided that something needed to change. They believed that women’s stories should be truly heard, understood and honoured; and that it was time to disprove Virginia Woolf’s famous statement that “Anon…was often a woman”. 

They did this by establishing the Women’s Prize for Fiction and its instantly recognisable statuette, “The Bessie”. This simple, but radical, step brought the female voice from the margins of the literary world to its very centre. 

Three decades later, your achievements are impressive. Budding authors have benefitted from the wisdom of those who have trodden the same path. Careers have been launched, bestsellers have flown off the shelves into the hands and hearts of the public, and each year you distribute 3,000 books to people in need. And you have forged a community of 16 million readers who love, in your own words, “original, accessible and brilliant” literature. 

In short, you have transformed the literary landscape for women. If I might return to Virginia Woolf – who never won any kind of award for her work, but who did have this tent named after her – and misquote her, “A woman must have a prize of her own if she is to write fiction”. 

Happy birthday, congratulations and thank you to every one of you who has been involved over the last 30 years. And the best of British luck to all our wonderful finalists tomorrow!