More than 1,000 Paddington Bear toys left in tribute to Queen Elizabeth have been donated to charity

Following the passing of Britain's beloved Queen Elizabeth II, thousands of mourners paid tribute to Her Majesty by leaving Paddington Bear toys outside royal residences.

More than 1,000 of the cuddly British icon were left along with cards and flowers and now Buckingham Palace has announced the bears have been donated to charity.

To accompany the announcement the toys were being handed over to Barnardo's children's service, the palace released a new photo of Queen Consort Camilla - who took over as patron of the charity from the queen in 2016.

A press release noted: "Please look after this bear. The Queen Consort is pictured with some of the 1,000 teddy bears that were left in tribute to Queen Elizabeth, and will shortly find new loving homes with @barnardos_uk children’s services.

"The bears have been scrubbed up to look their best, before they are delivered to their new home."

The post continued: "The bears are currently being well looked after at Buckingham Palace, Clarence House and in the Royal Parks nursery located in Hyde Park.

"The photograph was taken by @chrisjacksongetty at Clarence House on 13 October 2022 - the 64th anniversary of the publication of the first Paddington bear book."

Paddington Bear was linked to the Queen after she showed off her amazing acting skills in a three-minute scene with Paddington, in which she revealed, much to the delight of royal fans, that she too kept a marmalade sandwich in her handbag.

Shortly after Buckingham Palace announced her death, a sketch of the Queen hand in hand with Paddington Bear - which was originally drawn by artist Eleanor Tomlinson for the recent Jubilee celebrations - went viral on social media.

The sweet watercolour picture of the Queen, Paddington Bear and one of her corgis with their backs to the viewer as they walk away has had the emotional caption "I've done my duties Paddington, please take me to my husband" added to the image.