Camilla thanked the bear for attending the event, celebrating the final of the BBC 500 Words, a children’s story writing competition.
The Queen asked Paddington Bear to share his marmalade sandwiches with her when she met him at a star-studded reception for the final of a national writing competition.
The BBC 500 Words competition, which received more than 46,000 entries this year, encourages children of all abilities from across the UK to write.
Camilla presented the medals and the winners will be announced during a special episode of the BBC’s The One Show on March 6.
After the ceremony at Windsor Castle, the Queen 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,” Camilla told the bear.
“You’re very kind, you are going to give all your marmalade sandwiches to all these children.
“Perhaps I can have one too?”
The bear gave the Queen an enthusiastic thumbs up to this request, and later guests were offered the sandwiches on plates beneath red hats.
The late Queen Elizabeth II famously appeared in a comedy sketch with a digitally animated Paddington Bear to mark her Platinum Jubilee, in which she revealed that she kept marmalade sandwiches – Paddington’s favourite treat – in her handbag.
When she died in 2022, mourners left Paddington cuddly toys and marmalade sandwiches outside Buckingham Palace in tribute.
Other stars at the event on Wednesday 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.”
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 Barney said: “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.
