Queen Elizabeth presented with teddy bears for Prince George and Princess Charlotte
Queen Elizabeth was clearly pleased to receive two teddy bears for her great-grandchildren Prince George and Princess Charlotte on Thursday. The monarch was presented with the gifts during a visit to a hospice in Norfolk, England which is just over three miles away from her royal Sandringham Estate.
The Norfolk Hospice, Tapping House, has recently opened a new $4.9million facility which provides care and support for people with life-limiting conditions, and the Queen met with patients and bereaved relatives who have benefitted from its work.
The Queen was presented with teddy bears for Prince George and Princess Charlotte Photo: Getty Images
They included 9-year-old Jack Plummer, whose mother Amee Walton died from a brain tumor in 2013 at the age of 29. He presented the teddy bears to the Queen on behalf of bereavement charity Nelson's Journey, with handwritten notes to George and Charlotte. He wrote: "Please look after this bear like Nelson's Journey did to me."
The youngster explained that his mother was looked after by the charity's Hospice at Home service, adding: "The Queen seemed really interested in the support I've had and said the Prince and Princess would appreciate the presents."
The Queen is often presented with gifts for her great-grandchildren, along with an array of weird and wonderful gifts for herself. An official record of the gifts received by the monarch in 2015 shows she was presented with everything from a 1lb bag of salt from the British Virgin Islands and the first rugby ball from the first Rugby World Cup in London, gifted by the organizers of the 2015 Rugby World Cup.
Queen Elizabeth was visiting a hospice in the East of England when she was given the gifts Photo: Getty Images
Her official engagement on Thursday coincided with the announcement that Spain's King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia had postponed their official state visit to the UK. The royal couple were due to visit the Queen in March, but have delayed their trip due to the ongoing process of forming a government following the hung parliament result in the country's December General Election.
A spokesperson for Buckingham Palace said of the news: "The Queen has been informed of the Spanish Government's decision to cancel the forthcoming State Visit. The Queen, of course, fully understands the decision and the context in which it was taken."
Letizia and Felipe were due to visit from March 8 to 10 and were set to stay at Windsor Castle. The castle, which is a 90-minute drive away from London, is often used by Queen Elizabeth as her weekend home.
