In the midst of the confusion and pain of national grief, a little bear in a red hat and blue duffle coat has beckoned his paw to show us the way.
Suddenly, it is not he who is lost and in need of looking after, but us...
It started on Friday with a white bread marmalade sandwich left respectfully outside Buckingham Palace.
But soon, at royal palaces across the land, more sliced white appeared, accompanied by jars of marmalade and Paddington Bear after Paddington Bear.
Outside Windsor Castle at the weekend during the surprise royal walkabout, a well-wisher handed Prince William his own furry friend, which the duke said he would pass on to his eldest son.
The Queen only became synonymous with Britain’s most famous bear three months ago, thanks to the heart-warming teatime sketch revealed to the world during her Platinum Jubilee.
Watching her genuinely appear to relish her funny acting encounter with an animated bear – and produce a secret sarnie from her iconic handbag “for later” – endeared her to us even more fondly.
Following the Queen’s death, it is Paddington who has become the tribute to Her Majesty which seems to resonate most warmly, for all ages, allowing us to express an affection which is at times difficult to articulate.
Karen Jankel, 64, daughter of the late Paddington author Michael Bond, believes the affiliation is so strong because the earnest bear enabled the Queen to be herself, and allow the world to see it.
Karen says: “It really was a very human moment, which is probably an odd thing to say seeing as she was with a bear.
“Paddington brings people together and brings out the best in people – that’s a quote from one of the books. I certainly think he did that with the Queen.
“He gave her the opportunity to show that side of her that was so special, and brought people closer to her. That’s why so many people are leaving these tributes. It’s a wonderful, uplifting memory of her.
“What’s fabulous is she had this enormous sense of humour which didn’t always come across when you saw her at serious events as a distant figure.
“We got to see the true person with a warm sense of humour. The fact it was with Paddington, I couldn’t be more delighted. It’s very moving.”
She adds: “It’s a hugely sad event for the nation but the fact we now associate her with something so warm and happy is a lovely way to remember her.”
Karen chuckles: “Paddington would be chuffed, although I don’t know what he’d think about all those marmalade sandwiches being left – the waste.”
Her dad, who passed away in 2017, aged 91, received his OBE from Her Majesty in 1997, but their paths had first crossed – in a fashion – at her coronation in 1953.
He was a young BBC crew member perched up in the rafters of Westminster Abbey, helping to film the event.
It was several years before he would write about the Peruvian refugee bear. “My father would be enormously warmed by the Paddington tributes,” says Karen. “He would have seen it as a huge honour.
“He would have been overwhelmed – I certainly am.
“He wasn’t a royalist, but he had this close association with the Queen. He was an admirer of the Queen.”
At the end of the Jubilee sketch, Paddington thanked Elizabeth II for all
she had done. The gentle words of this matter-of-fact bear brought a tear to the eye as he spoke for us all.
Now, once again, we turn to Paddington to express a sense of loss and gratitude too great for words.
After all, they had a lot in common. Like the Queen, Paddington has two birthdays a year and lives at Windsor... Gardens.
- In a tribute to Elizabeth II, a family have created a mosaic of Paddington on Sandymere beach at Westward Ho! in Devon, using hundreds of shells and pebbles. It took about four hours.
- As part of the BBC’s special programming, the Paddington movie, starring Ben Whishaw, is on BBC1 on Saturday at 7pm. Paddington 2 is on BBC1 on Monday at 6.50pm.
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