Queen Camilla to gift missing Winnie-the-Pooh character Roo to New York library
Queen Camilla will gift a specially crafted Winnie-the-Pooh character to the New York Public Library, completing its historic collection during a four-day US state visit
The Queen will gift a specially made toy of Winnie-the-Pooh character Roo to the New York Public Library during the state visit to the US to complete a set of the beloved characters in one of the institution’s collections.
Camilla and the King are due to arrive in the US on Monday for a four-day visit during which they will meet Donald Trump and be guests of honour at a White House banquet.
The US president has said the state visit could go towards mending relations with the UK damaged over the Iran war.
On Camilla’s itinerary is a visit to the New York Public Library, where she will view its permanent Treasures collection.
This is home to the teddy bears which belonged to Winnie-the-Pooh creator A A Milne’s son and which are believed to have inspired the stories first published a century ago in 1926.
The collection displays Winnie, Tigger, Piglet, Kanga and Eeyore but is missing the original toy of the baby kangaroo – Roo – which was lost in an apple orchard in the 1930s.
The Queen will gift a replacement Roo made specifically for the visit by traditional British teddy bear makers Merrythought, who produced the original toys at the start of the 20th century.
The design is based on the original illustrations.
The Roo toy, currently in Buckingham Palace, will join Camilla on the royal plane to make the transatlantic journey.