keeping up with the royals

Prince George Got His Own Winnie-the-Pooh Book

Prince George.
Prince George. Photo: Chris Jackson/Getty Images

Posh royal Prince George has his own car, a special robe for meeting President Obama, and the tiniest backpack. Now, he also has a cameo appearance in a new Winnie-the-Pooh book made especially for the queen.

Queen Elizabeth and Winnie-the-Pooh shared 90th birthdays this year — both were born in 1926, when A.A. Milne’s story was published. The first book was dedicated to baby QEII just after her birth; around the same time, she was given a Christopher Robin china nursery set. Thus, the queen loves Winnie-the-Pooh, and to celebrate the occasion, Disney released Winnie-the-Pooh and the Royal Birthday, a free e-book created in the style of original illustrator E.H. Shepard.

Photo: Disney

Just imagine Kate Middleton reading this perfect story to baby Charlotte and Prince George: One day in the Hundred Acre Wood, Pooh receives a “most urgent” letter about the Queen’s birthday. Pooh, Piglet, Eeyore, and Christopher Robin set off for Buckingham Palace with a poem Pooh wrote for the matriarch. After taking the Tube and passing Trafalgar Square, Pooh intercepts the queen on a walk outside the palace: “Boldly he stepped forward and recited his hum in the loudest, bravest voice he could manage in these circumstances. The Queen smiled warmly at them all.” Piglet gives his red balloon to an unnamed toddler in a very Prince George–inspired cardigan, who is “much younger than Christopher Robin and almost as bouncy as Tigger.”

Photo: Disney

Jane Riordan wrote the new story, Mark Burgess illustrated, and Oscar-winning actor Jim Broadbent (the dad in Bridget Jones) narrates the audio story. The queen was reportedly happy about the project.

Photo: Disney
Prince George Got His Own Winnie-the-Pooh Book