In December 2019, royals fans were thrilled to see young Prince George joining his father Prince William, grandpa Prince Charles and great grandmother the Queen to make Christmas puddings. Adorable photos were released showing Her Majesty and the three heirs to the throne after her stirring the ingredients together at Buckingham Palace just before the big day.
Well, now those puddings are ready to eat! Yes, they take a year to age.
A traditional English Christmas pudding is made with seasonal fruit such as dates, oranges, raisins, spices and brandy. Making a pudding is a process that often includes the whole family. Once the ingredients are mixed, the puddings are cooked by being either boiled or steamed and are then set aside to age for a year. That means you cook next year's pudding the year before.
The Christmas puddings the Royal Family made last year were made in connection with a good cause. A group of veterans visited the Palace to help, and this year's treats will go to U.K. veterans through the Royal British Legion's Together at Christmas program. The desserts will help ensure 99 families that are spending Christmas alone can get some much-needed holiday cheer that they might otherwise miss. They're going to people in Spain, Fiji and Bahrain in addition to the U.K.
Ethel, who is 100 years old and worked in a military hospital in World War II, is one of the people who will eat one of the Royal Family's puddings this year.
Well, it's wonderful, isn't it?" she said to BBC Breakfast. "All sorts of things have happened to me – to this last weekend, really, being my 100th birthday as well."
She told the program she will enjoy the pudding with her son, Derek, and her grandchildren.
It's not known whether members of the Royal Family will make Christmas puddings for the initiative this year, but it seems certain we won't get the same photo op as we did last year.
The Queen and Prince Philip at their last Christmas at Windsor Castle, in 1987. Photo: © Julian Parker/UK Press via Getty Images
U.K. COVID-19 restrictions around gatherings from Dec. 23 to 27 state three families may bubble together, but they can't see anyone outside of that period. The rules mean the royals won't all gather at Sandringham for their traditional family celebrations this Christmas, which the Queen and Prince Philip will spend at Windsor Castle for the first time since 1987. Charles and Duchess Camilla will mark the holiday at their Highgrove House estate, but the Cambridges haven't revealed their plans. But it seems likely they'll be at Anmer Hall, their Norfolk home, over the holidays.
One thing is for sure: Royal fans should watch for the Queen's Christmas speech as usual on Dec. 25.
