Paddington Bears left for the Queen cleaned and donated to children's charity

17 October 2022, 14:53

The Paddington Bear toys left outside the royal residences have been donated to charity. Picture: Getty/Royal Family

By Alice Dear

Following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, people started placing Paddington Bears outside royal residences as a tribute.

Over 1,000 Paddington Bear toys and other teddy bears that were left for the Queen have been donated to children's charity Barnardos.

Following the death of Queen Elizabeth II on September 8, members of the public started to gather at royal residences, including Windsor Castle and Buckingham Palace, to lay flowers and letters.

Among the tributes were many Paddington Bear toys, with people associating the beloved character with Her Majesty following their special collaboration for the Platinum Jubilee.

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Now, the thousands of toys left outside the royal residences have been professionally cleaned and sent off to charity.

People leave Paddington Bear toys outside Buckingham Palace following the death of Queen Elizabeth II. Picture: Getty

To mark the special donation, Queen Consort Camilla, who became patron of Barnardos in 2016, posed for a picture with a number of the toys in the Morning Room at Clarence House.

The photograph was taken on Thursday, October 13, which was the 64th anniversary of the publication of the first Paddington Bear book.

Camilla Queen Consort poses with Paddington Bear toys in the Morning Room of Clarence House. Picture: Getty/Royal Family

The Queen became associated with Paddington earlier this year when she appeared in a short video with the animated bear for her Platinum Jubilee.

In the video, which was a surprise to everyone, the Queen invited Paddington for tea at Buckingham Palace.

During the meeting, Paddington offers the Queen a marmalade sandwich from his hat, at which point she reveals that she also keeps a 'spare' sandwich in her handbag 'for later'.