Queen admits she is a ‘bit nervous’ before helping to send a Christmas pudding up in flames at a lunch for the Royal Voluntary Service

The Queen warned guests to “hold on to your hair” as she helped to send a Christmas pudding up in flames.

After admitting she was a “bit nervous” to help flambé the showstopper, the Queen poured an entire jug of brandy over the 14in, 22lb pudding at a lunch for the Royal Voluntary Service (RVS).

She told volunteers gathered for the launch of Festive Spread, a community lunch aimed at ensuring nobody spends the Christmas season alone, that she was “eternally grateful for everything you do”.

“As I always say, this country would collapse without you,” she added.

The RVS will host 70 of the lunches across the country. Wednesday’s event in West London was attended by Felicity Kendal and Elaine Paige, the charity’s ambassadors, with the Queen spending half an hour meeting guests and volunteers.

Catherine Johnstone, the RVS chief executive, told the assembled guests that the Queen would be joining them shortly before she arrived. She added that the Queen would rather they did not worry about what to call her or curtsying, saying they should concentrate on enjoying themselves instead.

The Queen laughed while describing her own role in the lighting of the Christmas dessert as a “career-limiting moment”.

The Queen, who is patron of the Royal Voluntary Service, pours brandy over a Christmas pudding Credit: Alberto Pezzali/PA

Lunch was made with the help of students from West London College, who were the first people to meet the Queen as she arrived.

Asking them how long they had been cooking and what they particularly liked to make, she told them that it was “so nice” and “so lovely” to use their new skills to help others through the RVS.

Upon greeting Ms Kendal and Ms Paige, both of whom have worked with the RVS for years and met Camilla when she was Duchess of Cornwall, the Queen was asked how she felt following her bout of pneumonia and joked: “I’m still standing.”

Joining the lunch, she sat down at a succession of round tables and shook hands with volunteers and guests wearing Christmas hats and hairbands who were waiting for their lunch.

‘You’re making me nervous’

The topic of the Christmas pudding came up multiple times, with the Queen saying: “I’m a bit nervous.

“I can just see it! You’re making me nervous now,” she said, while making the gesture of a fire roaring upwards.

One RVS volunteer asked if she was wearing a fire-retardant coat. Her cream, silk shirt and dark green jacket were by Anna Valentine.

The Queen praised volunteers by repeating that the scheme was “so important” and asked about their Christmas plans.

“I used to do that,” she was heard saying during a conversation about Meals on Wheels.

She occasionally leaned in to engage in a quieter conversation with an elderly guest. The lunches were created to help make sure the vulnerable, elderly or bereaved do not spend the entire festive season without seeing another person.

“Everyone has something to say,” the Queen said, wishing each table a “happy Christmas” before moving on to the next and sitting down at three in total.

Invited to the front of the hall, where a large Christmas pudding – measuring 36cm in diameter and weighing 10kg – was laid out, the Queen joked: “Hold onto your hair!”

‘An amazing patron’

In a short speech, Ms Johnstone told the Queen: “You are amazing. We didn’t know whether you were going to be able to come today – we would totally have understood if you couldn’t but the fact that you have has made it very special for everybody so thank you.

“You are an amazing patron and I don’t want to steal your line but every time we meet, you say volunteers are the backbone of our community.

“If every volunteer went on strike just for one day, the country would literally grind to a halt. It’s never more needed now for people to be stepping forward in their communities.”

Turning to the Christmas pudding and wielding a large firelighter, she continued: “I am going to do the lighting, you’re going to do the pouring. You pour as much as you would like and I’ll do the honours”.

Given instructions to pour the brandy over the pudding, the Queen said “right, right” in concentration as she kept pouring, causing the room to laugh.

“I think it would be very sensible if ma’am could just stand back a bit,” Ms Johnstone said before sending it up in flames.

The Queen delivered a short speech of her own without notes, saying: “Thank you all for all you do for the community. As I always say, this country would collapse without you. I am eternally grateful for everything you do.”

The Queen has been president of the RVS since 2012 and became patron in May 2024.