The Queen has voiced her concerns about children being attracted to computer games and e-books rather than reading traditional paper books.

Her comments came as she presented author Joanne Harris with an MBE for services to literature.

Harris, whose books have been published in more than 40 countries, came to prominence when her 1999 novel Chocolat topped the bestseller lists in 1999.

The 2001 film version, which starred Juliette Binoche and Johnny Depp, brought the story of a single mother who divides opinion in a small French village when she opens a chocolate shop to an even wider audience.

Speaking after the Buckingham Palace investiture ceremony, the writer said about the Queen: “She asked me what I thought about e-books and computer games and said that she feared that children were playing with those more than they were reading books. So I told her that we start them on e-books and computer games and TV and then try to get them on to books later.”

Some ministers have suggested in the past that computer games and television are distracting youngsters from reading. And research by the National Literacy Trust published earlier this year found that a majority of children preferred to read on screens rather than from books but those who used the new technology had weaker literacy skills.

Speaking about her MBE, the author said: “It’s wonderful to be recognised and it’s wonderful to see the world of literature be recognised every time this happens to one of us.”

She added: “Books may change shape but people will always need stories, and the shape of those stories may alter. I think hard copy books are here to stay for a long time. The fact they’re branching out into other areas doesn’t feel threatening at all.”

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