Prince George mixes it with the Queen: Four generations of the Royal family prepare Christmas puddings for armed forces veterans

Don't forget the sixpence, George!

The 6-year-old Prince took the lead when four generations of the Royal Family got together to help prepare Christmas puddings in an exercise captured in a series of enchanting pictures.

Under the adoring gaze of his great-grandmother – and with a little help from his grandfather Charles and father William – the angel-faced George gets stuck into the sticky fruit mix with his wooden spoon.

The table is filled with four bowls, with all of the generations getting involved with the seasonal baking. Photo / AP

And once the blend was perfect, each Royal placed commemorative sixpences into the mixture.

To the possible relief of his father, the young Prince even managed to keep his white shirt spotlessly clean, despite not wearing an apron or even rolling up his sleeves.

The Queen and the three future kings mixed the puddings last week in the magnificent Music Room, one of Buckingham Palace's 19 State Rooms, and the place where Prince William was christened.

Veterans Liam Young, Colin Hughes, Alex Cavaliere, Barbra Hurman and Lisa Evans pose alongside the royal family in the Music Room at Buckingham Palace. Photo / AP

Behind them stands a Christmas tree, adorned with regal decorations and baubles, including crowns, corgis, a throne and Scots Guards wearing kilts and bearskin hats.

The puddings will be handed out next year as part of a campaign by the British Royal Legion to tackle loneliness among armed forces veterans.

The Queen, the Prince of Wales, Duke of Cambridge and Prince George prepare Christmas puddings in a photograph released by Buckingham Palace. Photo / AP

The charity will serve 99 puddings to mark its 99th year. The mixing session was led by Alex Cavaliere, a former soldier with the Army Catering Corps who now works in one the charity's six care homes.

Also taking part were veterans Liam Young, 33, a former corporal in the Light Dragoons who trained with Prince Harry and who fought in both Iraq and Afghanistan, and Lisa Evans, 35, a mother-of-two who was in the Royal Logistics Corps and served in Iraq aged just 18.