With just days until Christmas Eve, when the royal family traditionally celebrate with a roast turkey and all the trimmings at Sandringham, Buckingham Palace has released a charming new set of images of the Queen mixing Christmas puddings with her great-grandson, grandson, and son, and all future kings: Prince George, Prince William, and Prince Charles.
The photographs, a festive treat for royal fans, were taken last week at Buckingham Palace and show the Queen smiling and looking relaxed and happy as she helps Prince George stir sixpences (for good luck) into the mixture, while the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Cambridge (who had a good stir too) proudly look on.
The photographs were taken in the Music Room, traditionally home to royal christenings, at Buckingham Palace, which was festively dressed for the occasion with a tree adorned with crowns, corgi stockings, and gold and silver baubles seen in the background.
As he stirred the mixture with a large wooden spoon Prince George looked like quite the competent little chef. Earlier this week his mother Kate revealed in a Christmas TV special with the queen of cooking, Mary Berry, that her children love to cook and particularly enjoy making pizza dough.
The royals agreed to take part in the The Royal British Legion’s “Together at Christmas” initiative, which launches next year and will help service men and women and their families over Christmas. The campaign will provide extra support to the Armed Forces and veteran communities at annual festive get-togethers around the county where the Christmas puddings, including those mixed by the Queen and her family, will be served.
A spokesman for the Royal British Legion said the initiative has been launched “to combat the loneliness and isolation experienced by some members of the Armed Forces community at what can be a difficult time of year. The get-togethers will provide an opportunity for all ages of the Armed Forces community to come together and enjoy the Christmas puddings.”
The Christmas pudding making session, which is understood to have taken place earlier this week before the Queen hosted her Christmas party at the palace, was led by one of The Royal British Legion’s care home chefs and Army Catering Corps veteran, Alex Cavaliere, and attended by four veterans—Colin Hughes, Liam Young, Lisa Evans, and Barbara Hurman. A new Royal British Legion recipe was created for the launch, with the Royal Family uniquely adding poppy seeds to the mixture, in a nod to the charity’s iconic symbol of Remembrance.