Buckingham Palace will donate over 1,000 Paddington Bears and other teddies that were left outside Queen Elizabeth's royal residences as a tribute to the late monarch to a children's charity.
Mourners left a sea of flowers, teddy bears and even marmalade sandwiches outside Buckingham Palace and in royal parks in London and outside Windsor Castle after Queen Elizabeth died on Sept. 8 at age 96.
The tributes were a nod to a sketch that aired earlier this year in which the queen hosted Paddington Bear for tea as part of her Platinum Jubilee celebrations. In the video, which premiered on the BBC in June, the animated character tells the queen that he always keeps a marmalade sandwich under his red floppy hat.
The queen replies that she hides marmalade sandwiches in her purse. At the end of the video, Paddington Bear congratulates the queen on her 70 years on the throne.
On Saturday, Buckingham Palace and the royal parks announced that the teddy bears would be professionally cleaned before being donated and delivered to Barnardo's children charity, for which the late queen served as patron from 1983 to 2016, according to Harper's Bazaar.
"Over the last few weeks, we have been looking for a fitting and appropriate use for the hundreds of teddy bears that were left in The Green Park and Hyde Park to honor The Queen," Tom Jarvis, Director of Parks at The Royal Parks charity, said in a statement.
"We are delighted that the teddy bears will now bring joy and comfort to hundreds of children supported by Barnardo's," he added.
The palace noted in a statement that the bears are currently being "well looked after" at Buckingham Palace, Clarence House, and in the Royal Parks nursery situated in Hyde Park.
"Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II was Barnardo's Patron for over 30 years, and we are honored to be able to gives homes to the teddies that people left in her memory," said Barnardo's chief executive, Lynn Perry. "We promise to look after these bears who will be well-loved and bring joy to the children we support."
Perry added, "We are incredibly grateful to Her Majesty the queen consort for her support in helping us to raise awareness of the needs of vulnerable children and young people in the U.K. so that we can continue to support them through our vital services."
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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