To say goodbye for the last time to the Queen isabel IISarah Fowles went to Buckingham Palace with flowers… and a stuffed animal.
With his red hat and blue coat, Paddington Bear it is omnipresent in the midst of thousands of bouquets.
Everyone still remembers the video of the queen drinking tea with the lovable, clumsy bear on the occasion of the Platinum Jubilee festivities, which the United Kingdom celebrated in June for her 70-year reign.
“It was the last time we saw the queen at a public event,” said Julie Williams, 63, who traveled four hours by train from Manchester to pay tribute to the late sovereign. “It was these kinds of things that created a bond between her and people.”
The video showed the 96-year-old queen having tea with Paddington and acknowledging, with a mischievous smile, that she was wearing a jam sandwich in its inseparable bag, like the one with the endearing bear under the hat.
They would then bang together with a spoon on their teacups to the beat of the drums as they began to play Queen’s ‘We Will Rock You’ live outside Buckingham Palace.
The video went viral and remained in the collective memory as one of the few funny moments of a jubilee with a farewell tone.
“This video was great. It showed his sense of humor, that he knew how to connect with people, with children in this case,” explains Sarah Fowles, who hopes to deposit her Paddington at the palace gate.
“And Paddington is just an institution for the British,” he adds. Before starring in a movie, he was a major character in children’s literature since the 1950s.
Shortly after the announcement of the death of the queen, who will be buried on September 19, Paddington tweeted from his official account: “Thank you ma’am, for everything”, repeating a replica of the video that has now become a symbol of goodbye to Elizabeth II.
Nevertheless, The Royal Parks authority in charge of the parks in which the queen is honored, “suggests that there are already enough Paddingtons and jam sandwiches in the parks”, reported a BBC presenter.
He also asked that no more stuffed animals or balloons be deposited, and that the bouquets of flowers not be wrapped in plastic, to facilitate composting.
The children’s farewell to Queen Elizabeth II
In the middle of the sea of flowers, the children deposited their drawings of the famous bear. One shows Elizabeth II from behind shaking her hand, with this emotional message: “I did my duty Paddington. Please take me to my husband.”
In another illustration, the bear is in front of Big Ben with the queen. Another drawing shows Paddington under a rainbow, accompanied by this message in childlike handwriting: “She will always be missed.”
“It’s so adorable,” says a Londoner pointing to a bear accompanied by a drawing. “I can’t get used to it,” her husband murmurs sadly, leaning on a cane.
Paddington is not alone among so much flower. Stuffed animals or drawings of corgis, the queen’s favorite dogs, accompany him.
“She will be missed,” writes a child inside a heart with corgi stickers. The horses are also present, since everyone knows the queen’s passion for horse riding.
AFP
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