Queen Camilla meets Paddington Bear at Windsor Castle while presenting awards at final of BBC 500 Words competition

Marmalade sandwiches were on the royal menu at Windsor Castle when Paddington Bear met The Queen. Camilla met the iconic character - and asked to share his signature snack - while presenting awards at the final of a national writing competition.

Children were invited to the castle to receive prizes in the BBC 500 Words competition, which encourages young people from across the UK to put pen to paper and get creative. More than 46,000 entries were received this year, with The Queen presenting the medals. The winners will be announced during a special episode of the BBC’s The One Show on March 6.

After the ceremony, Camilla met the marmalade-loving bear, who has been brought to life for Paddington The Musical on the West End. She shook hands with the 4ft creature, who was dressed in his signature blue duffle coat and red hat, and thanked him for coming to the event.

"Hello Paddington – how very nice to meet you, thank you very much for coming," she said. "You’re very kind, you are going to give all your marmalade sandwiches to all these children. Perhaps I can have one too?"

Guests - and Her Majesty - were later offered their own sandwiches served on plates covered with red hats made famous by the much-loved bear, who gave an enthusiastic thumbs-up to her request.

The meeting came after a famous meeting between Paddington and the late Queen Elizabeth II, who appeared in a comedy sketch with a digital bear to mark her Platinum Jubilee. That meeting saw the monarch reveal she kept marmalade sandwiches in her handbag.

When she died in 2022, mourners left Paddington cuddly toys and marmalade sandwiches outside Buckingham Palace in tribute.

At the ceremony this week, Paddington wowed the audience when he took to the stage to sing The Explorer And The Bear from the new West End musical, while fellow star Marisha Wallace performed A Million Dreams from The Greatest Showman.

Other stars at the event included celebrity readers actress Joanna Page, Peep Show actor Paterson Joseph, rapper Big Zuu, TV presenters Bradley and Barney Walsh and Doctor Who star Jodie Whittaker. DJ Sara Cox, who will host a BBC 500 Words special on her Radio 2 Book Club next week, also attended.

Joseph thanked Camilla for “all you are doing for literacy”, and added: “There’s been a big drop since Covid."

The Queen asked Big Zuu if he was still cooking, and the rapper replied: “I will cook for you soon, one day.”

The Chase host, Bradley Walsh, told Camilla her work with the 500 Words competition, which she has supported for more than 10 years, is “a wonderful thing”, while his son, and Gladiators co-host, Barney, added: “The creativity of the children is unbelievable."

The Queen also met judges of the competition, including Sir Lenny Henry, Noughts And Crosses writer Malorie Blackman and actress Rose Ayling-Ellis, whom she had previously sat down with at Buckingham Palace to discuss the shortlisted stories.

Since the competition was launched in 2011, by Chris Evans on the BBC Radio 2 Breakfast Show, it has received more than one million stories from children throughout the UK.

The ceremony celebrated the achievements of six winners from two age categories, five to seven and eight to 11, with recognition given to gold, silver, and bronze recipients in each group.

Sir Lenny said many of the authors he had met were already working on follow-ups to their stories, and joked: “Some of them have agents, there’s a limo outside for one of them already, I mean they’re really ahead of the game these kids, they’re amazing. I was so humbled when I sat down with all the judges, it’s an amazing experience and it inspires me to put my back into my writing. These kids have got me beat.”

Asked about concerns over the decline in the number of children reading for pleasure, Sir Lenny said: “It doesn’t feel like that to me, it feels like these kids are smart and they’ve got big ideas and they want to write.”

Author Blackman said she hopes the competition will encourage children to read more.