The Queen in a surprise comic sketch with Paddington Bear (Buckingham Palace/ Studio Canal/BBC Studios/PA)
(Picture: PA Media)Viewers have praised the BBC for giving a “fitting tribute” to the Queen by airing Paddington 2 after the state funeral.
The monarch was buried at the King George VI Memorial Chapel at Windsor Castle alongside her late husband Prince Philip on Monday evening following a committal service.
She became associated with Paddington Bear after the pair appeared together on a sketch aired during her Platinum Jubilee celebrations earlier this year.
The sketch saw the Peruvian bear visit Buckingham Palace for afternoon tea, where the Queen shows him a marmalade sandwich from her handbag.
After the end of the televised committal service on Monday evening, BBC One aired Paddington 2 in a sweet tribute to the monarch.
Viewers praised the broadcaster’s choice, with one writing: “A fitting end to the day from the BBC showing Paddington 2, still one of the best movies we've produced in the last decade.”
Another wrote: “Paddington 2 is on BBC One and it's warming my heart.”
Mourners also left Paddington Bears, flowers and marmalade sandwiches outside Buckingham Palace following news of the Queen’s death last Thursday.
Hundreds of thousands of people packed pavements across the capital as the UK said “thank you” and “goodbye” to its Queen at a state funeral at Westminster Abbey.
Hundreds of heads of state from across the globe were in attendance, including US President Joe Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron and Japan’s Emperor Naruhito.
During his sermon, the Archbishop of Canterbury told the congregation the outpouring of emotion for the Queen “arises from her abundant life and loving service, now gone from us”.
He told mourners: “People of loving service are rare in any walk of life. Leaders of loving service are still rarer.”
