The Queen brought the house down at her own Platinum Jubilee party when she was joined for a cream tea by a national treasure – Paddington Bear. For the 2012 Olympic opening ceremony, James Bond famously made an appearance with the Queen – and now it was the turn of everyone’s favourite Peruvian bear – who was filmed alongside the monarch.
The Queen revealed she shares Paddington’s love of marmalade sandwiches and keeps an emergency stash in her trademark handbag. The film was shown as the star-studded party in the shadow of Buckingham Palace began.
Accident-prone Paddington was shown causing mayhem by accidentally depriving the understanding sovereign of another cup of tea and spraying cream from a chocolate eclair over a Palace Footman. The bear from Peru congratulated the Queen on her reign of 70 years, saying: “Happy Jubilee Ma’am. And thank you. For everything.” The Queen replied: “That’s very kind.”
The Queen and her furry guest had a novel way of introducing the first act – tapping out the beat of Queen’s We Will Rock You on China teacups. It led into Queen + Adam Lambert opening the show with We Will Rock You followed by Don’t Stop Me Now and We are the Champions.
Queen guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor paid tribute to the monarch, who did not attend the party, before they took to the stage, describing her as an “incredible woman” and hinting at the Paddington moment said she was a “very good sport”.
Thousands queued in The Mall for much of the day for the musical tribute which will see Alicia Keys, Hans Zimmer, George Ezra, and Eurovision 2022 runner-up Sam Ryder take to the stage. The Prince of Wales and Duke of Cambridge will also pay tribute to the Queen in front of 22,000 spectators and a television audience of millions.
