Paddington Bears left for Elizabeth donated to charity

British royal family donates over 1,000 Paddington bears and other toy bears left behind for Queen Elizabeth for a good cause. Hugs were left en masse at Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle, among others, after Elizabeth’s death.

Paddington was conceived in 1958 by British writer Michael Bond. Most likely the people who left the soft toys did, because the queen was seen in a video with the bear a few months before her death to celebrate her 70th anniversary on her throne.

In the video, she can be seen drinking tea with Paddington and talking to him about their fondness for jam sandwiches.

After his death, so many Paddington bears and jam sandwiches were left behind that London park managers invited the public to stop by.

The bears left behind are cleaned and then donated to Barnardo’s, an organization that supports, among other things, traumatized children. The queen has been the patroness of this charity for over thirty years.

The British royal family shared a photo of Queen consort Camilla with some of the bears: