Paddington Bears left at royal residences in tribute to the late Queen have been rehomed with a little help from the Queen Consort.
Camilla described it as "a pleasure" to deliver more than 1,000 bears, after they had all been professionally cleaned by volunteers, to vulnerable children at a nursery.
Her Majesty chatted with dozens of youngsters cared for by the Barnardo's charity at Bow Nursery in east London, during a picnic complete with iconic marmalade sandwiches.
The bears were among the thousand or so who were left outside royal residences in London and Windsor following the death of the late Queen by people inspired by the Queen’s appearance in a filmed sketch with Paddington to mark her Platinum Jubilee.
Gathered up, they have been professionally cleaned and given a label which, in recognition of the famous label attached to Paddington when he first arrived in London from darkest Peru, says: “Please look after this bear.”
It was signed ‘Camilla R’.
The Queen Consort was joined by Paddington film cast members Hugh Bonneville and Madeleine Harris, and Karen Jankel, the daughter of author Michael Bond, for whom he wrote the stories.
Camilla gave the children Paddington Bear toys left by members of the public at the Long Walk in Windsor and outside Buckingham Palace after the Queen's death in September.
The Queen's Platinum Jubilee sketch in the summer saw the Peruvian bear visit Buckingham Palace for afternoon tea, during which the Queen produced a marmalade sandwich from her handbag.
The Queen Consort was joined by a group of children aged two and under around a table, and two-year-old Noa Nkemdirim hovered nearby until Camilla gave her a hug.
She also spoke with a circle of older children who were playing with blue foam, asking them: "What are we doing here?
"Making a mess? We love a bit of mess."
To mark the end of her visit, the Queen Consort shared marmalade sandwiches seated beside Bonneville, Harris and Ms Jankel, while around 40 children sat cross-legged at their feet.
Three-year-old Oscar Isherwood shouted "I don't like marmalade" while others clamoured to receive a bear from the Queen Consort.
Camilla gently told the children to place the tiny boots on their Paddington Bears, "otherwise he won't be able to go outside".
Bonneville, who plays Mr Brown on the movie, read Bond's story Paddington Takes A Bath to the children - which had been chosen by the Queen to reflect the fact that all the bears had been cleaned before embarking on their journey to Bow - described the Queen and Paddington as "two great symbols of kindness" and said the toy bears served as "a nice memory of Her Majesty that will continue for the next generation".
The bears - and the Queen Consort, sitting next to a small hamper full of her travelling companions - set off from Clarence House in three London taxis provided by the London Taxi Drivers' Charity for Children, of which Her Majesty is patron.
The visit came after Camilla was pictured surrounded by teddies in a photo taken on October 13 to mark the 64th anniversary of the publication of the first Paddington Bear book.
As she stood to leave, Camilla told the children and their carers: "It has been a pleasure to find a home for these bears - please look after them carefully."
