Camilla gathered with 150 volunteers and schoolchildren at the event in London.
The Queen cut a cake in the shape of a marmalade sandwich alongside Paddington Bear, as the fictional character was unveiled as the National Year of Reading ambassador for 2026.
Camilla joined 150 volunteers and schoolchildren in the British Library on Wednesday to mark the National Year of Reading, and take part in The Big Lunch, across several marquees in the venue’s piazza.
The Big Lunch, which was started by the Eden Project, encourages people across the UK to have lunch with their neighbours for a few hours of community, friendship and fun on the first weekend of June.
In March, the King and Queen launched this year’s Big Lunch and The Big Help Out campaign at the Eden Project in Cornwall to mark the 25th anniversary of the millennium initiative.
Camilla, who is patron of the National Literacy Trust, also visited the library’s Fairy Tales exhibition, where she saw children dress up as characters and took part in an improvised storytelling activity, which she began with the words: “Once upon a time.”
Camilla met 12-year-old author Betsy Griffin, who was diagnosed with a rare and inoperable brain tumour when she was two-years-old which left her blind.
“I hear you wrote a book. I’m so impressed, that’s absolutely incredible,” Camilla told the author, whose book Out Of The Woods was published by Harper Collins in 2024.
Betsy, who gifted the Queen her book, said meeting the royal had been “very nerve-wracking”, adding: “Definitely one of the most memorable days of my life.”
Poet Laureate Simon Armitage recited a short poem from the marquee’s stage and introduced the two newly appointed Young Poet Laureates for London, Maya, 11, and Latifah, 14.
Mr Armitage said the pair, from south London, had undergone a “gruelling” application process, adding: “It’s been like the X Factor meets Britain’s Got Talent meets the Makerfield by-election all rolled together.”
The two schoolchildren, who completed a National Literacy Trust programme giving young people the opportunity to discover poetry, performed pieces they had written especially for the day.
Speaking to the volunteers and pupils gathered in the marquee, Camilla said: “I just want to say how proud I am of being patron of The Big Lunch, of the National Literacy Trust and of the Royal RVS.”
“To be patron of all three and get them all joining together for this wonderful National Year of Reading is very exciting.
“It’s wonderful to hear from Jonathan (Douglas, chief executive of the National Literacy Trust), how well it’s going, and how many people are joining as volunteers, and also to hear these wonderful, well, not only to hear Simon, but to hear these wonderful young laureates.
“I mean, what, what talent, and I couldn’t congratulate you more, so I hope everybody enjoys this wonderful cake, especially Paddington, who we’re very glad to have on board as an ambassador.
“So, thank you all very much for all you do for volunteering. We couldn’t, none of these things could be done without you, so thank you very much indeed.”
The Queen, who has been patron of The Big Lunch since 2013, also spoke to pupil librarians from primary schools in London, which have benefited from the National Literacy Trust’s Libraries For Primaries campaign.
The National Year of Reading 2026, which was launched by the Department for Education (DfE) in partnership with the National Literacy Trust, aims to address a steep decline in reading enjoyment among children and young people, which is said to be at a 20-year low.
The project, which has 35,000 volunteers, hopes to recruit 100,000 in total and “inspire millions” of all ages to read.
The Queen met social media influencer Jack Edwards, who is also a National Year of Reading ambassador, and the pair discussed running their own book clubs.
Mr Edwards, 27, who has more than 800,000 followers on Instagram, told the Press Association: “We spoke about how we both run book clubs. I have Inklings. She has the Queen’s reading room.
“So, it was nice to compare notes about what we’re reading this month, what we’re reading next month.
“I think we’re both fans of Elif Shafak, so that’s a bonding point for us. I think we’re very aligned in our tastes – Maggie O’Farrell, you know – so I think she doesn’t need recommendations from me. If anything, I take any from her.”
Jonathan Douglas, chief executive of the National Literacy Trust, said “This is our big campaign moment, but the more voices we have, the more community activists we have, the stronger our campaign will be, and this, this moment is the very heart of the campaign.
“(The British Library) is the place where all our stories, all our books are welcome and housed. This is the place, both of what we have in common, but also the diversity of our identities, it’s a perfect place.”
Lindsey Brummitt, programme director at the Eden Project, said: “We’ve got some fantastic volunteers here from the National Literacy Trust, and lots of people enjoying a Big Lunch, which is what this weekend is all about, volunteering and sharing food and friendship together.”
The British Library is the UK’s national library and holds more than 170 million items, ranging from newspapers and maps to recordings and academic journals.
The National Literacy Trust, an independent charity which encourages people of all ages to read, works in communities across the UK with low literacy rates.
