More than a thousand Paddington bears and other teddy bears that had been placed among the British tribute messages to Queen Elizabeth II will be donated to a charity working for children, Buckingham Palace announced on Saturday.
The soft toys ‘deposited to pay homage to Queen Elizabeth in front of the royal residences of London and Windsor will be donated to works dedicated to the children of (the association) Bernardo’s’, indicates the palace in a press release.
The Queen was the patron of this association until 2016, when Camilla, then Duchess of Cornwall and now Queen consort, succeeded her. “We promise to take care of these bears who will be very loved and will bring joy to the children we help,” said the head of the association Lynn Perry, quoted in the press release.
Cult character
With his red hat and blue coat, Paddington Bear has been a cult character in British children’s literature since the 1950s. Queen Elizabeth II, who died on September 8, had fun on her Platinum Jubilee last June celebrating her 70-year reign, to shoot a video in which she co-starred with the famous bear cub.
The video, which immediately went viral, has remained as one of the rare joyous moments of a jubilee with a farewell tone. While the flowers placed in front of the royal residences or in the spaces provided in various parks in the capital were collected at the end of September to be composted, the stuffed animals and other objects had been collected pending a decision on their future.
/ATS