Paddington Bears left in memory of Queen Elizabeth II enjoy the spoils of royal life
Paddington Bears left in memory of Queen Elizabeth II have been pictured enjoying the spoils of royal life at Buckingham Palace and Clarence House - before they are personally donated to families by the Queen Consort.
A video also revealed how staff from the Royal Parks took the bears into their nurseries for sorting, before having them professionally cleaned and taken to the royal residences - where they are said to have indulged in “some light reading” at Clarence House and explored the state rooms at Buckingham Palace.
Next week, The Queen Consort will attend a special teddy bears picnic at a @Barnardos Nursery to deliver Paddington Bears and other cuddly toys that were left as tributes to Queen Elizabeth at Royal Residences and @TheRoyalParks.
Take a look at their journey so far: pic.twitter.com/4Pwt7YL5yb— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) November 18, 2022
“They are excited to join their new homes soon,” it said.
The Queen Consort will join a teddy bear’s picnic at Barnardo’s Nursery in Bow, east London, next Thursday, where she will hand out some of the 1,000 cuddly toys left at the gates of royal palaces to children supported by the charity.
The others will be distributed to children in need around the country.
Paddington film cast members Hugh Bonneville and Madeleine Harris - who play Mr Brown and Judy Brown respectively - along with Karen Jankel, daughter of Paddington author Michael Bond and for whom the original stories were written, will also join a picnic guaranteed to include marmalade sandwiches.
Camilla, who inherited the patronage of Barnardo’s from the late Queen in 2016, will transport the bears from the royal residences in a convoy of electric taxis driven by representatives of the London Taxi Drivers’ Charity for Children, of which she is also patron.
Bonneville will read Paddington Takes A Bath to the children and guests, reflective of the bears’ journey so far.
Those involved in the project are said to hope that the bears will be “much loved for many years to come” by children supported by Barnardo’s, while understanding the story behind the bears and why they were donated.
The late Queen became intrinsically associated with Paddington during the Platinum Jubilee celebrations, when she took part in a sketch with the marmalade-loving bear.
The two-minute video saw Paddington take tea with Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace, before the monarch produced a marmalade sandwich from her handbag.
Such was the outpouring of affection following her death in September that the palace had to beg well-wishers to stop leaving the bears in tribute.
Mourners were also asked to stop leaving marmalade sandwiches.
