Queen Elizabeth and Paddington Bear.Photo: Buckingham Palace/Studio Canal/BBC Studios/Heyday Films via Getty
On Sunday, the “Paddington Meets The Queen” skit fromPlatinum Jubilee: Party at the Palacewon the P&O Cruises Memorable Moment Award at the annual television awards show. In thetwo-and-a-half-minute skit, which aired duringQueen Elizabeth’sPlatinum Jubileeconcert at Buckingham Palace in June 2022, the late monarch sat with the beloved children’s book character for a cup of tea and some marmalade sandwiches. The prerecorded parodyeven surprisedher family when it opened the concert celebrating her record-breaking 70-year reign.
WhenQueen Elizabethdied on Sept. 8 at age 96, Paddington Bear also made a statement on social media.
“Thank you Ma’am, for everything,” the official Paddington account wrote in aTwittertribute.
Last June,Queen Elizabethsurprised everyone when she joined Paddington in the fun sketch to open the Platinum Party at the Palace. Thehilarious skitfeatured the monarch hosting the beloved bear for tea — and revealing what she keeps in her trusty handbag: a marmalade sandwich!
Can’t get enough ofPEOPLE’s Royals coverage?Sign up for our free Royals newsletterto get the latest updates onKate Middleton,Meghan Markleand more!
The surprise spot was kept top secret — so much so that even members of the royal family had no idea about it until they were watching it open the star-studded concert.Prince GeorgeandPrincess Charlottewere clearly amazed, smiling and gasping as they watched their great-grandmother’s interactions with Paddington onscreen. (Then-Prince Charles, however, may have been clued in — his speech earlier in the day did reference a marmalade sandwich.)
Queen Elizabethpassed the patronage toQueen Camilla, who was then known as the Duchess of Cornwall, in 2016, and King Charles' wife attended aspecial picnicto see the bears united with their new owners.
Chris Jackson/Shutterstock
Joining the party were the stars of the movie, Hugh Bonneville and Madeleine Harris (Mr. Brown and Judy Brown, respectively) and Karen Jankel, the daughter ofPaddingtonauthor Michael Bond, for whom the original stories were written. Bonneville read the storyPaddington Takes A Bathto the children.
source: people.com
