Late Queen Elizabeth II will make a small cameo in the upcoming third installment of the Paddington movie franchise, a tribute that reportedly made the royal family “very happy.”
“Paddington 3,” officially titled “Paddington in Peru,” will specifically harken back to the animated bear’s afternoon tea with the late monarch, as shown in a video released during the queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations.
A photo of Paddington and Queen Elizabeth enjoying their tea will appear in one of the film’s scenes, according to Variety.
The subtle nod to the late queen reportedly got the thumbs up from the royal family.
It came “with the consent and agreement of the royal household,” Ron Halpern, the head of global productions at France’s Studiocanal, said of the cameo.
“[The royal family] were actually very happy for it to happen,” producer Rosie Alison added. “But we don’t like to make a big deal of it, because Paddington’s obviously a very modest fellow.”
Paddington made headlines when he appeared in the surprise video unveiled during the “Platinum Party at the Palace” tribute concert outside Buckingham Palace on June 4, 2022.
The video, filmed at Windsor Castle, showed the marmalade-loving bear at tea with Her Majesty and behaving true to form — that is to say, clumsily.
After first drinking all of the tea directly from the queen’s teapot, he accidentally falls on an eclair and sprays a footman with cream.
With the tea and treats gone, Paddington offers Queen Elizabeth his signature marmalade sandwich that he always keeps underneath his hat “for emergencies.”
Smiling, the queen responds, “So do I,” as she pulls a sandwich out of her handbag. “I keep mine in here.”
To date, the video has 21 million views on the royal family’s official YouTube account alone.
For many, the image of Elizabeth with Paddington was one of the last images they had of the sovereign, and the two became inexorably linked when she passed.
Paddington’s official X account remembered the queen following her death, writing, “Thank you Ma’am, for everything.”
Paddington also found himself at the heart of many memorials to Her Majesty. At parks and royal palaces across the UK, people left not only flowers and cards but also marmalade sandwiches and over 1,000 Paddington bear dolls.
Officials quickly became overwhelmed and asked people to stop bringing teddy bears “in the interests of sustainability.” They also asked the public to refrain from leaving marmalade sandwiches because of the “negative impact” on the wildlife.
Funnily enough, “Paddington 3” features more than one Queen Elizabeth. The film stars Olivia Colman, who portrayed the queen in the third and fourth seasons of “The Crown.”
“Paddington in Peru” will be released in the US and Canada on January 17, 2025.