A children’s charity will receive more than 1,000 Paddington bears and other teddies that were left in memory of the late Queen Elizabeth II in London and Windsor, according to a statement released by Buckingham Palace today.
Following the death of the UK’s longest-reigning monarch on September 8 at age 96, mourners showered Buckingham Palace, the royal parks in London, and Windsor Castle with thousands of tributes, including flowers and teddy bears.
During the Platinum Jubilee celebrations earlier this year to honour the monarch’s 70 years on the throne, the queen and the Paddington bear, another British national treasure, appeared together in a short comedic video. The queen can be heard telling the computer-animated Paddington bear in the video that she enjoys hiding things in her purse “for later” and that she shares his love of marmalade sandwiches.
Buckingham Palace and the royal parks said today the hundreds of bears left in tribute to the queen will be professionally cleaned before being delivered to Barnado’s, a children’s charity.
Elizabeth supported the organisation for more than 30 years before handing it over to Camilla, now known as the Queen Consort and the wife of King Charles III.
“We are honoured to be able to give homes to the teddies that people left in her memory,” said Lynn Perry, chief executive of Barnardo’s.
We swear to take good care of these bears so they can provide happiness to the kids we help.
A large number of Paddington bears were donated by the Queen.
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