Marmalade sandwich, ma’am? Paddington meets the current Queen for first time
Television bear is star performer as Camilla honours young writers at Windsor final of BBC competition
Paddington Bear has met the Queen for the first time at Windsor Castle.
The television favourite tipped his red hat and took hold of Her Majesty’shands at the royal residence on Wednesday after he performed at the grand final of BBC 500 Words, the children’s writing competition.
The Queen, who has long championed a love of reading and is patron of several literary charities, met the Peruvian bear in the Grand Reception Room.
Bending down to speak to Paddington, she said: “Thank you very much for coming all the way from Peru, it’s very kind of you.
“And you’re going to give all your marmalade sandwiches to all these children, and perhaps I can have one too, thank you very much.”
On an unseasonably warm day in the room usually reserved for investitures, the Queen added: “You must be a little bit hot”.
Paddington Bear famously took tea with Elizabeth II at Windsor Castle during her Platinum Jubilee celebrations, delighting the nation and surprising members of her family with the sequence for the television coverage of the Jubilee, which was filmed under top secret conditions.
On Wednesday, the bear was once again a surprise guest at the royal residence, this time joining the competition’s judges Sir Lenny Henry, Malorie Blackman and Rose Ayling-Ellis.
They were there to celebrate talented young writers from all across the UK at a special reception, hosted by Her Majesty, to honour the children’s imaginations and creative writing.
Hosted by Roman Kemp and Alex Jones, the presenters of BBC One’s The One Show, the final saw six winning entrants selected after the judging panel narrowed down 46,000 submissions.
When greeting Her Majesty before the recording, Kemp told her he heard some of the children “couldn’t believe they were in an actual castle”.
During the final, which will be broadcast on March 6, Paddington performed The Explorer and The Bear, from Paddington The Musical. He was followed by West End star Marisha Wallace, who performed A Million Dreams from The Greatest Showman.
Excerpts from the winning entries were read by celebrities including Jodie Whittaker, the Doctor Who star, Joanna Page of Gavin and Stacey, Bradley and Barney Walsh, the father and son TV presenters, Sara Cox, the BBC DJ and author, Paterson Joseph the RSC actor and award-winning writer, and Big Zuu, the rapper and TV personality.
Among the other guests at the reception were some of the Gladiators from the hit BBC show. Her Majesty chatted with Livi Sheldon and Zack George, better known as Diamond and Steel, and Harry Aikines-Aryeetey (Nitro) and Montell Douglas (Fire).
Queen Camilla has supported the competition since 2015 and earlier this year she joined the panel of judges – also including Charlie Higson, Frank Cottrell-Boyce and Francesca Simon – to discuss the shortlisted stories
The Queen has made it her mission to champion literacy through royal patronages and her own initiatives, including the book club she founded in lockdown that transformed into The Queen’s Reading Room charity.
Last month, she described her charity’s mission to get people reading as “more urgent than ever,” warning that global reading rates are at their “very lowest”.
Speaking at the reception for the winners and guests, hosted in St George’s Hall, Ms Blackman said the 500 Words competition “goes a long way” to tackle declining literacy and encourage reading for enjoyment.
‘A champion of children’s literacy’
“Her Majesty the Queen spoke about how the children are inspired to write by reading other stories but I think also, their stories are so inspiring…the depth and breadth of stories gave us a good feeling,” said the former Children’s Laureate.
“I hope it encourages children in the future to go into the competition, but it’s not just about winning…it’s about the endeavour, about doing it, and using writing to express your feelings in a constructive way.
“I think Her Majesty is such a champion of literacy, particularly children’s literacy, and I think she realises how important it is to be read to, to share stories as a way of communicating and connecting with other people.
“She’s always been a champion of that and she does an awful lot behind the scenes that people might not see, so it is a cause very dear to her heart.”
Sir Lenny said of the competition: “Really brilliant storytelling…these kids are just amazing.”
He added: “I hope it can encourage kids to just keep writing about whatever they want to write about, because it’s a real key to unlocking your mind and unlocking creativity.”
The grand final is set to be broadcast in a BBC 500 Words programme with The One Show on Friday March 6, and on CBBC and BBC iPlayer on March 7 and 8.
[Source: Daily Telegraph]
