The lovable bear Paddington has shared a tribute to United Kingdom monarch Queen Elizabeth II. An iconic figure of British culture, the character of Paddington made his debut in a series of children's storybooks by Michael Bond, originally published in 1958. Hailing from Darkest Peru, he is an anthropomorphic young bear with the ability to speak English, who takes up with a London family and shares his love for humanity (and marmalade). The character was popularized in the modern era for a pair of films: 2014's Paddington and its sequel, 2017's Paddington 2, which are beloved by children and adults alike.
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Queen Elizabeth is a similarly iconic British figure, with a story beginning at nearly the same time. As dramatized in the Netflix series The Crown, she became Queen of the United Kingdom and its sovereign countries in 1952 and ruled for 70 years and 7 months, the longest reign of any British monarch in history. Earlier today, news broke that Queen Elizabeth II's health was in jeopardy. Although the news was somewhat muddled for a short period, this was rather quickly followed by the announcement that she had indeed passed away, at the age of 96.
Today, in the wake of the news, the official Paddington Twitter account shared a tribute to the Queen. His Tweet said, simply, "Thank you Ma'am, for everything." While the folks on Twitter have flooded the replies with their thoughts, positive or negative, on the Queen's reign, the Tweet itself is consistent with Paddington's overall message of kindness. Take a look at the post below:
Despite the obvious impediment of being fictional, this is not the first time that Paddington has interacted with Queen Elizabeth II. Earlier this year, he celebrated her 96th birthday by appearing in a video having tea and listening to the band Queen with her, specifically their iconic 1977 hit "We Will Rock You." He also visited Buckingham Palace in the 1986 book Paddington at the Palace, glimpsing the Queen through a window, and made an appearance – along with other children's literary characters – in the 2006 televised event Children's Party at the Palace, celebrating her 80th birthday.
His relationship with the British royal has previously been playful, as is his wont. However, this time Paddington tapped into the inherent emotional core that made for Paddington 2's overwhelming critical success to provide a more solemn farewell. While the account will likely return to its usual playful nature before long, this was certainly a time for the British icon to sit back and pay tribute.