Our hearts go out to the Royal Family with the loss of their dear family member, Queen Elizabeth II. There are many ways to remember her and in the next few weeks there will be a lot reminiscing about our Queen. One of the funny and most endearing moments must be her little acting debut with Paddington Bear.

So, what’s the story behind Queen Elizabeth II and Paddington?

In 1986, Paddington and the Queen almost “met” the first time in the children’s book – Paddington at the Palace. In the story, Paddington visits Buckingham Palace but only spots the Queen in a window.

Then, in 2006 when the Queen turned 80, they organised a little pantomime play for the children called The Queen’s Handbag. In this play, Paddington visits Buckingham palace again.

At this stage, they still haven’t met for real, but the Queen was definitely a fan of Paddington. And it’s safe to say that Paddington was already very fond of her.

And then they meet!

In June 2022, they had afternoon tea together in the light of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.

Queen Elizabeth II was known for her humour and cheek, and this part of her personality came to the fore when she agreed to act in a little video with Paddington Bear.

In this little skit, Queen Elizabeth II joined Paddington for afternoon tea, and just what did she have in her handbag? Well, a marmalade sandwich of course! The YouTube video has over nine million views and is definitely worth a watch. It is guaranteed to make you giggle!

Preferences for tea and marmalade sandwiches were not the only thing the Queen and Paddingon had in common. These two icons had a very similar way of looking at the world – “Be kind and polite and the world will be right”. This saying from Paddington resonated with the way Queen Elizabeth acted through her years of being the Queen. The shared values between Paddington and Queen Elizabeth were the foundation of their friendship and why the people just loved to connect the two together.

After the Platinum Jubilee, a famous illustration by artist Eleanor Tomlinson gained attention, where the Queen and Paddington walk hand-in-hand into the distance. Today it’s a very fitting meme.

We are surrounded by Teddies every day and are very proud to be able to claim a couple of ‘royal connections’ through Baneda Bob and Striling Downs Sussex. We can confirm that it is something special when you have a Teddy in your life. We are grateful for the lovely story about our Queen Elizabeth II and Paddington and the special bond they had and, in our minds, always will have.