Queen Elizabeth’s ‘frail’ health led to major change in her Paddington Bear sketch

Queen Elizabeth II put her humorous side on display as she appeared in the memorable sketch with Paddington Bear to commemorate her Platinum Jubilee last June.

In the sketch, the late monarch sits down with Paddington for an afternoon tea, while actor Simon Farnaby, portrays a footman in it. The tea seems to starts off well, but it soon descends into chaos thanks to Paddington’s clumsiness.

The sketch seemed to be recorded in the Buckingham Palace, but, in an interview with OK! Magazine, Farnaby revealed that was not the case.

The actor shared that the filming actually happened in Windsor Castle, where the late Queen spent a lot of her time before she passed away in September the same year, at age 96.

According to the outlet, Elizabeth was ‘so frail’ that the location was changed so she would not have to travel.

The highly praised sketch was given the award for Memorable Moment at the 2023 TV BAFTAs on Sunday night, with Farnaby taking to the stage to accept the prize. Ben Whishaw, who voiced the character in the sketch and in the films Paddington and Paddington 2, also appeared on stage at the BAFTAs.

Farnaby called the project as a “lovingly handcrafted moment.”

For the Queen, he commented, “She had a very joyful Jubilee tea that day… The person who most deserves this award is no longer with us, we can only accept it on her behalf and say ‘Thank you, ma’am, for everything’.

At the end of the clip, the pair both started tapping to the beat of We Will Rock You as Queen’s song began to play at the Platinum Party at the Palace on June 4th, 2022.