The Royal Family have shared a new photo of Queen Consort Camilla posing with hundreds of Paddington Bear teddies. The Paddington tributes were left in honor of the late Queen Elizabeth II and will now be cleaned and sent off to leading children’s charities in the United Kingdom.
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- Queen Consort Camilla posed with hundreds of Paddington teddy bears ready to be sent off to Barnardo’s
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A newly released image shows the Queen Consort surrounded by teddies to mark the donation of more than 1,000 toy bears to the Barnardo's children's charity.
The cuddly toys, including many Paddington Bears, had been left outside Buckingham Palace by mourners paying their respects to the Queen following her death last month.
The Palace said the teddies had been collected and professionally cleaned before they are delivered to Barnardo's children's services in the coming weeks.
Adorably, the Palace also said that the bears had been "well looked after" at Buckingham Palace, Clarence House and in the Royal Parks nursery in Hyde Park.
In the picture, Camilla sits on a low sofa in the Morning Room at Clarence House wearing a navy blue dress with white stitching, surrounded by lots of Paddington.
The cheerful photo was taken on Thursday, October 13 - the 64th anniversary of the publication of the first Paddington Bear book.
Fans online have been quick to react to the heart-warming photo, and the thought behind it.
One wrote, “Oh how special it will be to receive one of these precious bears!” while another added, “Paddington Bear will get out there and make so many new friends smile. What a clever idea, thank you, Your Majesty.”
Touchingly, a further comment read, “Queen Elizabeth II would greatly approve. Every child should have a good Christmas this year.”
Paddington and the late Queen Elizabeth II became intertwined after a much-loved skit during the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations.
In the now-iconic clip, the Queen sits down for tea at Buckingham Palace with the popular children’s character.
In a memorable moment, Paddington offers Her Majesty one of his famous marmalade sandwiches, only for her to pull one out of her own purse.
The adorable skit prompted members of the public to leave teddy bears, and quite a few marmalade sandwiches, among the floral tributes which collected outside royal residences following her death last month.
Those many bears and toys will now be sent off to Barnardo’s, a British charity founded by Thomas John Barnardo in 1866, to care for vulnerable children.
The late Queen passed the patronage of Barnardo's to Camilla in 2016, who was then the Duchess of Cornwall.
Barnardo's chief executive Lynn Perry has said of the Paddington donations, "Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II was Barnardo's patron for over 30 years, and we are honoured to be able to give homes to the teddies that people left in her memory.”
"We promise to look after these bears who will be well-loved and bring joy to the children we support.”
"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 UK so that we can continue to support them through our vital services."
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