Queen Camilla has rumbly-tumbly reason to revisit cherished love

Queen Camilla is lending her voice to one of Britain’s best-loved literary characters as Winnie-the-Pooh prepares to mark a remarkable 100 years in print.

The Queen has recorded a special message for BBC Radio 4, speaking on the enduring appeal of A.A. Milne’s stories and the qualities she believes have allowed Pooh and his friends to remain so cherished across generations.

Her message was recorded at a particularly fitting location, the famous Pooh Sticks Bridge in Ashdown Forest, the woodland landscape that helped inspire Milne’s fictional Hundred Acre Wood.

During a visit to Hartfield in July, Camilla joined local schoolchildren for a game of Pooh sticks, revisiting a childhood pastime in the very place associated with the beloved stories. 

She joked that although she had played the game many times as a child, she had never done so at the original location.

The Queen will open a special week of BBC programming dedicated to the centenary on October 12. 

A host of familiar names from the worlds of film and television will take part, including Sir Lenny Henry, Jim Broadbent, Ambika Mod, Toby Jones and Hayley Atwell, who will read stories from the Hundred Acre Wood.

Milne drew heavily on the countryside around Ashdown Forest, transforming its landscape into the setting for some of the most recognisable children's literature ever written. 

The real Christopher Robin was Milne's son, whose childhood experiences and toys helped inspire characters including Pooh, Piglet, Eeyore and Tigger.

Christopher Robin Milne later struggled with the enormous public attention surrounding his fictional counterpart. 

Yet, decades later, he became involved in efforts to protect Ashdown Forest, the very landscape that had helped give his father's stories their distinctive magic.