Queen Elizabeth: UK royals donate Paddingtons to children's charity

More than 1,000 bears were left outside Buckingham Palace following monarch's death

More than 1,000 Paddington and teddy bears, left at at Royal Residences as tributes to Queen Elizabeth II, will be donated to the Barnado's charity. PA.

Camilla, the Queen Consort, is pictured surrounded by teddies in a new image released to mark the donation of more than 1,000 toy bears to a children’s charity.

The bears – made up of Paddingtons and other teddies – had been left by members of the public outside Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle in the wake of Queen Elizabeth's death last month.

The toys have been collected, professionally cleaned and will be delivered to Barnardo’s children’s services in the coming weeks, Buckingham Palace said.

In a photograph to mark the occasion, Camilla is seen smiling broadly while sitting on a low sofa in the Morning Room at Clarence House wearing a navy blue dress with white stitching, clutching a Paddington bear on her lap and surrounded by other teddies.

The picture was taken on Thursday, which was the 64th anniversary of the publication of the first Paddington bear book.

The queen’s platinum jubilee sketch in the summer saw the Peruvian bear visit Buckingham Palace for afternoon tea, during which the queen produced a marmalade sandwich from her handbag.

It prompted mourners to leave teddy bears and even some of the tasty treats among the floral tributes which amassed outside royal residences following her death in September.

In 2016, the Queen passed the patronage of Barnardo’s to Camilla, who was then the Duchess of Cornwall.

A tweet from the Royal Family’s official account, accompanied by the newly-released picture, stated: “Please look after this bear.”

It added: “The bears have been scrubbed up to look their best ahead of arrival at their new home.”

Barnardo’s chief executive Lynn Perry said: “Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II was Barnardo’s patron for over 30 years, and we are honoured to be able to gives 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."

Buckingham Palace said the teddies were being “well looked after” at the palace, Clarence House and in the Royal Parks nursery in Hyde Park.

Late last month the Royal Parks charity, with the help of shire horses and almost 200 volunteers, began gathering tributes from Green Park and Hyde Park.

The toy bears collected then will join those left as tributes on the Long Walk outside Windsor Castle in being cleaned and donated to Barnardo’s.