THE QUEEN WILL VISIT BARNARDO’S TO DELIVER PADDINGTONS AND TEDDY BEARS LEFT AT ROYAL RESIDENCES AS TRIBUTES TO QUEEN ELIZABETH II
Thursday 24th November 2022
The Queen will attend a special teddy bears picnic at a Barnardo’s Nursery in Bow on Thursday 24th November. During the visit, Her Majesty will personally deliver Paddingtons and other cuddly toys that were left as tributes to Queen Elizabeth II at royal residences to children supported by the charity.
In 2016, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II passed the patronage of Barnardo’s to the then Duchess of Cornwall.
Her Majesty will join children supported by Bow Nursery and Barnardo’s staff for the picnic, alongside key characters from the world of Paddington. Paddington film cast members Hugh Bonneville and Madeleine Harris, who play Mr Brown and Judy Brown respectively, and Paddington author Michael Bond’s daughter Karen Jankel, for whom the original stories were written, will come together for marmalade sandwiches on the day.
Today, The Royal Parks, Buckingham Palace and Barnardo’s have released a video update charting the journey of the bears so far from the Royal Parks to the launderette to the royal residences, where they are currently being looked after, alongside some photographs of the bears enjoying their stay at Buckingham Palace and Clarence House.
It was announced last month that over 1,000 Paddingtons and teddy bears left as tributes in London and Windsor would be donated to Barnardo’s children’s services. The teddy bears have all been professionally cleaned ahead of the delivery, with those being presented by Her Majesty on Thursday to remain with children at the Bow Nursery, while others will be distributed to children supported by Barnardo’s across the country.
Her Majesty will arrive at Barnardo’s in a convoy of electric taxis which will transport the teddy bears from Clarence House and Buckingham Palace. The taxis will be driven by representatives of the London Taxi Drivers’ Charity for Children, of which the then Duchess of Cornwall become patron in 2010.
At Bow Nursery, the Queen will be met on arrival by Barnardo’s CEO, Lynn Perry MBE, and Chair of Trustees John Bartlett before being shown around by Team Manager Shamima Ahmed. At a special teddy bears picnic, Her Majesty will then present children supported by the nursery with their bears. As part of the teddy bears picnic celebration, Hugh Bonneville will read the story ‘Paddington Takes A Bath’ to the children and guests, reflective of the bears’ journey so far.
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.
The Paddington Project
Buckingham Palace, the Royal Parks and Barnardo’s children’s charity announced on 18th October that over 1,000 Paddingtons and teddy bears left in tribute to Queen Elizabeth II outside royal residences in London and Windsor would be donated to Barnardo’s children’s services. The teddy bears have all been professionally cleaned before being delivered and are currently being well looked after at Buckingham Palace and Clarence House ahead of their journey to Bow next week.
To mark the announcement of the donation, a new photograph was released in October of the Queen with some of the hundreds of Paddingtons and teddy bears that are being gifted to the children’s charity. The photograph was taken in the Morning Room at Clarence House on Thursday 13th October 2022, the 64th anniversary of the publication of the first Paddington bear book.
Thousands of tributes – from flowers to teddy bears – were left outside royal residences in London and Windsor following Queen Elizabeth II’s death on Thursday 8th September. In central London, many were left at the two official tributes areas in The Green Park and Hyde Park. Later in September, the Royal Parks charity, with the help of Shire horses and almost 200 volunteers, began sensitively clearing the tribute gardens. The teddy bears collected during this process have joined those left as tributes on the Long Walk outside Windsor Castle in being donated to Barnardo’s children’s services.
