Paddington Bear was filmed opposite the Queen in a sketch for her Platinum Jubilee celebrations in which the Queen and Paddington Bear share tea and marmalade sandwiches in an endearing and wholesome exchange. Paddington Bear became an unlikely mascot for the Queen after she died, with so many Paddington teddy bears and marmalade sandwiches being laid out in tribute that the Royal Parks had to request mourners to not leave out any more.
Those teddy bears will now be donated to a children’s charity, according to an announcement from Buckingham Palace. The teddy bears will be professionally cleaned before they are donated to the British children’s charity Barnardo's which helps to support children and young adults who have been abused. The charity also works to prevent further cases of abuse.
More than 1,000 teddy bears will be donated to Barnardo’s which the Queen patroned from 1983 until 2016 when she passed the responsibility onto Queen Consort Camilla, 75. The teddy bears were collected by the Royal Parks Charity which was made up of almost 200 volunteers who cleaned the tribute gardens in late September.
“Those involved in the project hope the teddy bears will be much loved for many years to come by children supported by Barnardo’s, whilst understanding the story behind the bears and how they came to be donated,” said the palace in a statement.