Queen Elizabeth: UK royals donate Paddingtons to children's charity

Camilla, the Queen Consort, is pictured surrounded by teddies in a new image released to mark the donation of more than 1,000 toy bears to a children’s charity.

The bears – made up of Paddingtons and other teddies – had been left by members of the public outside Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle in the wake of Queen Elizabeth's death last month.

The toys have been collected, professionally cleaned and will be delivered to Barnardo’s children’s services in the coming weeks, Buckingham Palace said.

In a photograph to mark the occasion, Camilla is seen smiling broadly while sitting on a low sofa in the Morning Room at Clarence House wearing a navy blue dress with white stitching, clutching a Paddington bear on her lap and surrounded by other teddies.

The picture was taken on Thursday, which was the 64th anniversary of the publication of the first Paddington bear book.

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.

It prompted mourners to leave teddy bears and even some of the tasty treats among the floral tributes which amassed outside royal residences following her death in September.

In 2016, the Queen passed the patronage of Barnardo’s to Camilla, who was then the Duchess of Cornwall.

A tweet from the Royal Family’s official account, accompanied by the newly-released picture, stated: “Please look after this bear.”

It added: “The bears have been scrubbed up to look their best ahead of arrival at their new home.”

Barnardo’s chief executive Lynn Perry said: “Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II was Barnardo’s patron for over 30 years, and we are honoured to be able to gives homes to the teddies that people left in her memory.

“We promise to look after these bears who will be well-loved and bring joy to the children we support."

Buckingham Palace said the teddies were being “well looked after” at the palace, Clarence House and in the Royal Parks nursery in Hyde Park.

Late last month the Royal Parks charity, with the help of shire horses and almost 200 volunteers, began gathering tributes from Green Park and Hyde Park.

The toy bears collected then will join those left as tributes on the Long Walk outside Windsor Castle in being cleaned and donated to Barnardo’s.

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E-cigarettes report

Tobacco giants, under attack from governments and forced to print gruesome warnings on their products, pour millions into 'healthier' e-cigarette products

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The National's picks

4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young

Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme

Priority access to new homes from participating developers
Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
Flexible payment plans from developers
Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates

Manchester United's summer dealings

Victor Lindelof (Benfica) £30.7 million

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Nemanja Matic (Chelsea) £40 million

Out

Zlatan Ibrahimovic Released

Wayne Rooney (Everton) Free transfer

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How much sugar is in chocolate Easter eggs?

The 169g Crunchie egg has 15.9g of sugar per 25g serving, working out at around 107g of sugar per egg
The 190g Maltesers Teasers egg contains 58g of sugar per 100g for the egg and 19.6g of sugar in each of the two Teasers bars that come with it
The 188g Smarties egg has 113g of sugar per egg and 22.8g in the tube of Smarties it contains
The Milky Bar white chocolate Egg Hunt Pack contains eight eggs at 7.7g of sugar per egg
The Cadbury Creme Egg contains 26g of sugar per 40g egg

Heather, the Totality
Matthew Weiner,
Canongate

What can victims do?

Always use only regulated platforms

Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion

Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)

Report to local authorities

Warn others to prevent further harm

Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence

BULKWHIZ PROFILE

Date started: February 2017

Founders: Amira Rashad (CEO), Yusuf Saber (CTO), Mahmoud Sayedahmed (adviser), Reda Bouraoui (adviser)

Based: Dubai, UAE

Sector: E-commerce

Size: 50 employees

Funding: approximately $6m

Investors: Beco Capital, Enabling Future and Wain in the UAE; China's MSA Capital; 500 Startups; Faith Capital and Savour Ventures in Kuwait

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Dhadak 2

Director: Shazia Iqbal

Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri

Rating: 1/5

What the law says

Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.

“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.

“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”

If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.

AT%20A%20GLANCE

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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets

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