Queen Camilla has recorded a special message for BBC Radio 4 to honour the 100th anniversary of Winnie-the-Pooh, hailing the “kindness, wisdom” and “simplicity in a very complicated world” found in AA Milne’s beloved tales.
The recording was captured during a visit to the iconic Pooh Sticks Bridge in Ashdown Forest – the real-life setting that inspired the Hundred Acre Wood.
During her trip to Hartfield in July, the Queen joined local schoolchildren for a game of Pooh sticks, remarking that it was “something I spent a lot of time as a child playing, but never at the original place”.
A stellar lineup of performers will bring Milne’s stories to life across a dedicated week of programming.
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Sir Lenny Henry, Jim Broadbent, Ambika Mod, Toby Jones and Hayley Atwell have all been enlisted to read tales from the Hundred Acre Wood.
The Queen’s introductory message is scheduled for broadcast on October 12, launching the celebratory series.
According to the BBC, the readings are intended to mark a century since the stories first appeared in print, showcasing what the corporation described as the “enduring charm, humour and wisdom” of Pooh and his woodland companions.
The week of celebrations will draw to a close on October 17 with the broadcast of a newly commissioned radio play by Edward Kemp.
The drama takes its inspiration from the real-life campaign to protect Ashdown Forest, which AA Milne immortalised as the Hundred Acre Wood in his fiction.
At its heart lies the story of Christopher Robin Milne, the author’s son, who spent much of his life seeking distance from the characters that made his father famous.
Yet he ultimately found himself drawn into the fight to safeguard the very landscape that had shaped those enduring stories.
The Queen’s involvement in the centenary celebrations reflects her well-established commitment to promoting reading and literature.
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As founder of the Queen’s Reading Room, she also serves as patron of both the National Literacy Trust and the Royal Society of Literature.
Alison Hindell, Radio 4’s commissioner for drama and fiction, spoke warmly of the occasion.
She said: “For a century, Winnie-the-Pooh has captivated readers of all ages with stories full of gentle humour and subtle wisdom.
She added that the programmes “celebrate the enduring appeal of Milne’s characters and the particular landscape in which they are set.”
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