In the wake of the death of long-reigning monarch Queen Elizabeth II, mourners have been leaving cards, flowers, balloons and other tributes at sites around the UK, including in front of Buckingham Palace. And a number of them have also left stuffed toy versions of Paddington Bear and real, edible versions of his beloved marmalade sandwiches, which the Royal Parks department has asked them to stop doing.
“We are asking people not to leave marmalade sandwiches because of the negative impact on the park’s wildlife,” Royal Parks said in a statement, per Town & Country. As one BBC reporter oh so tactfully put it, “maybe stop bringing Paddingtons.”
Specifically, the department is asking for just flowers and cards. The flowers will be turned into compost after the funeral, and cards will be eventually moved to “storage.” They would “prefer” you not to leave anything else, according to the official guidelines, which stress the sensitivity and discretion their staff will use when periodically rearranging and removing tributes as needed.
The reason Brits associate Her Majesty with Paddington (a fictional Peruvian immigrant) is that she appeared alongside the (CGI) bear in a comedy skit presented at her Platinum Jubilee celebration, marking her 70th year on the throne.
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In the skit, Queen Elizabeth confesses that she carries a marmalade sandwich inside her ever-present handbags. A decade earlier, she appeared in a skit alongside Daniel Craig as James Bond for the Opening Ceremonies of the 2012 London Olympics, but no one seems to have left any 007 paraphernalia at any of the tribute sites.
On Twitter, many pointed out that extra food (or a cash donation, as a gesture) is always welcomed by services for the homeless and poor, and is essentially going to waste if left out next to flowers.
Stateside, English comedian James Corden quipped during his monologue on The Late Late Show, “If you here in Los Angeles…would like to honor the Queen, make it a turkey club with applewood smoked bacon and leave it outside [my studio]”
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Whatever you think of the royals, we can all agree, Paddington is a very good movie.
Originally Appeared on Glamour
