Queen Camilla chuckles as she battles massive sandwich cake at special event

Queen Camilla was beaming today as she cut a cake in the shape of a marmalade sandwich. The sweet moment happened as Her Majesty joined 150 volunteers and schoolchildren in the British Library on Wednesday to celebrate reading and to take part in The Big Lunch.

The Queen, who is an avid reader, was also joined when cutting the cake by Paddington Bear, who has been named as the National Year of Reading ambassador for 2026. The National Year of Reading has been designed to inspire people to develop a passion for reading. The Department for Education initiative, in collaboration with the National Literacy Trust, has come about to address the steep decline in reading enjoyment, especially among young people.

After spending time within the library today, Her Majesty also spent time in the Library's Piazza to meet people taking part in The Big Lunch, which is the UK's annual celebration which brings millions of neighbours and communities together. The event happens on the first weekend of June every year.

The Queen has been Patron of The Big Lunch since 2013 and recently joined The King to launch this year's Big Lunch and Big Help Out campaign at the Eden Project - an educational charity that inspires positive action for the planet.

Buckingham Palace said that students attending the event with Camilla today were from schools in London that had benefitted from the National Literacy Trusts' 'Libraries for Primaries' campaign.

This was co-founded with Penguin Books in 2021 to ensure every state primary school in the UK has a designated library space by 2029.

The National Literacy Trust is an independent charity that empowers people to develop reading, writing, speaking and listening skills.

This is done by supporting schools, families and communities. Her Majesty became patron in November 2010 for the charity and feels passionately about the benefits it brings.

Queen Camilla is known to be an avid reader, setting up The Queen's Reading Room in 2023 after launching her own online book club during the Covid-19 lockdown.

The charity is aimed at celebrating and promoting how important reading is.