The Queen was said to have a special bond with Paddington the bear. After their deaths, the British therefore place hundreds of plush bears in front of the royal residences. The palace is now donating them to a charity "scrubbed to make them look good before arriving in their new home".
More than 1,000 Paddington teddy bears and other teddies laid by mourners following the death of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II will benefit a children's charity. The cuddly toys will be handed over to the Barnardo's Foundation in the coming weeks, according to Buckingham Palace. The Queen was a patron of Barnardo's for decades.
"The bears have been scrubbed to look good before arriving in their new homes," Buckingham Palace said. A photo shared with the tweet shows King Consort Camilla with some of the bears. King Charles III's wife has been the patron of the organization since 2016.
The foundation expressed its gratitude for the donation. "We promise we will take care of these bears and they will be loved and bring joy to the children we support," said Lynn Perry, CEO of Barnado's.
For many Britons, the bear in the red hat and blue coat is inextricably linked to Elizabeth II, thanks to a video released in June to mark her 70th jubilee, in which the Queen sips tea with a computer-animated Paddington and chats about jam sandwiches . After her death on September 8th, hundreds of Britons left flowers and plush Paddingtons in front of the royal residences in London and Windsor.
The children's book character Paddington Bear and British Queen Elizabeth II, who died just over a month ago, had a special bond. On her 70th anniversary of the throne, the bear was allowed to come to the palace for tea for an animated video clip. The Queen had said mischievously that, like the bear, she always had a jam sandwich with her, which she promptly pulled out of her handbag.
The clip was first shown at the start of a concert with a number of British stars in London in early June. The crowds acknowledged the Queen's acting skills with great cheers. The video went viral on social media. It has since been viewed nearly 14 million times. After her death, Paddington's official Twitter account @paddingtonbear said: "Thank you for everything ma'am". The tweet has been liked around a million times.
After the death of the Queen, the British Parks Authority had asked mourners not to take off teddy bears, Corgi stuffed animals and wrapped jam sandwiches for sustainability reasons. Only flowers without plastic protection should be put down. The request was not granted. The teddy bears should now bring joy to children, as the palace announced.
(This article was first published on Sunday, October 16, 2022.)
