People from across the globe are paying tribute following Queen Elizabeth’s II’s death at 96, including another, albeit much fuzzier, British icon. After Buckingham Palace announced the Queen’s passing at Balmoral, Paddington Bear joined the throngs of people to remember the monarch, writing in a brief but poignant social media tribute, “Thank you Ma’am, for everything.”
The tribute, and the Queen’s passing, came just three months after the late monarch, who had reigned over the United Kingdom for a record-breaking seven decades, and the beloved bear shared sat opposite one another and shared the screen n a special short film celebrating Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee in June. The two and half minute video sequence, which was originally shown on BBC, saw Paddington, voiced by Ben Whishaw, joining the monarch for tea inside Buckingham Palace. In the skit, Paddington said, “Thank you for having me. I do hope you’re having a lovely Jubilee.” During their tea time together, Paddington also learned that the Queen shares his love of marmalade sandwiches, the monarch pulling one from her handbag as she quipped, “I keep mine in here for later.”
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“Her majesty is well known for her sense of humor, so it should be no surprise that she decided to take part in tonight’s sketch,” Buckingham Palace said of the skit in a statement at the time, per the Associated Press. “There was an interest in the filming and animation process and the opportunity to invite a famous bear to tea was just too much fun to miss.”
Reflecting on that skit during a Friday morning appearance on BBC breakfast news, Frank Cottrell Boyce – who co-wrote the Paddington sketch as well as the 2012 Olympics opening ceremony sketch featuring Her Majesty and Daniel Craig – said the late monarch is “absolutely glowing in that moment,” per Variety. Cortell went on to praise the Queen’s acting talent, adding, “and you’ve got to remember that that’s real acting that’s going on there. Paddington isn’t really in the room. She’s acting with an eye-line and with someone pretending to be Paddington. That’s proper acting going on. But I also think it’s true happiness.”
The Queen died “peacefully” at Balmoral, her Scottish estate, Thursday afternoon. Born on April 21, 1926, she became Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms on February 6, 1952 following the death of her father, King George VI. She reigned for 70 years, the longest of any British monarch. She is survived by her four children – Charles, now officially titled HM King Charles III; Anne, Princess Royal; Prince Andrew, Duke of York; and Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex.
