Royal Family reveals what will happen to Paddington Bears left as tribute to Queen
The Royal Family family has revealed what will happen to the many Paddington Bears that were left in tribute to the late Queen.
More than a thousand cuddly toys were placed beside flowers outside Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle after Her Majesty passed away aged 96 last month.
In a post on its official Instagram account, the Royal Family has revealed that these will be given to children through the charity Barnardo's.
The news was posted alongside a picture of Camilla, the Queen Consort, posing with a selection of toy bears that are due to be donated.
The image was captioned: "The Queen Consort is pictured with some of the 1,000 teddy bears that were left in tribute to Queen Elizabeth, and will shortly find new loving homes with @barnardos_uk children’s services.
"The bears have been scrubbed up to look their best, before they are delivered to their new home.
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"The bears are currently being well looked after at Buckingham Palace, Clarence House and in the Royal Parks nursery located in Hyde Park."
It was also revealed that the photo of King Charles's wife had been taken on 13 October, the date of the 64th anniversary of the publication of the first Paddington Bear book.
The post has received more than 355,000 'likes', with many royal fans praising the decision as a "wonderful" and "touching" way to honour the Queen.
An unlikely link between Her Majesty and the beloved children's character was created earlier this year when she appeared with an animated version of him in a sketch as part of the Platinum Jubilee celebrations.
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During the video, she revealed that she loved marmalade sandwiches and joked that she kept the snack in her iconic handbag.
Upon her death, this prompted many mourners to leave marmalade sandwiches as a tribute to her – triggering a jump in sales of the fruity spread by almost a fifth, according to The Independent.
It also prompted the Royal Parks, which was handling the floral tributes, to issue a statement: "We are asking people not to leave marmalade sandwiches because of the negative impact on the park's wildlife."
Watch: Camilla pictured with Paddington Bears as tributes to Queen donated to charity
