Queen and Royal Family 'open their doors to Ukrainian refugees' as they vow to 'do their bit'

kicked off the Platinum Party at the Palace tribute concert outside Buckingham Palace.But many viewers might not have known the real origins of the ursine celebrity who hails from “darkest Peru” — yet was actually inspired by Jewish refugee children.Author Michael Bond, who passed away in 2017 at the age of 91, decided to write a book about an orphaned cub sent to England after spotting a toy bear alone on a shelf at Selfridge’s department store on Christmas Eve in 1956.“It looked rather forlorn,” he told The Sunday Telegraph, so he purchased the bear as a stocking stuffer for his wife and began to write a story about it. Less than two weeks later, he had a completed novel which was sold for 75 pounds.Bond revealed that while writing the first book, “A Bear Called Paddington,” he was partly inspired by vivid memories he had of seeing Jewish refugee children pass through the train station in his hometown of London, on their way to London from Nazi-dominated Europe ahead of World War II.The Kindertransport was an organized rescue effort that saw nearly 10,000 predominantly Jewish children from Germany, Austria, Czechoslovakia and Poland settled in British foster homes and farms.

The royal family is showering Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s daughter, Lilibet Diana, with some birthday love!

Cheeky comedian Lee Mack wasted no time in using the Queen's Platinum Jubilee as an opportunity to stick the knife in Boris Johnson – metaphorically of course.The northern comic, 53, opened the concert, which is being held outside the gates of Buckingham Palace, by making light of the so-called 'partygate' affair in Downing Street. Speaking with the Prime Minister in attendance, who was in the royal box, Mack said: "Finally we can say the words ‘party’ and ‘gate’ and it’s a positive." The joke drew cheers and laughs from the crowd.The embarrassing quip comes just a day after the PM was booed outside St Paul's Cathedral as he attended the Thanksgiving service with members of the Royal Family.

Members of the Royal Family are out in full force on Saturday as they continue to attend Platinum Jubilee events across the country ahead of tonight's Party at the Palace. From appearing together on Buckingham Palace' balcony for Trooping the Colour, to heading to St Paul's Cathedral for a Service of Thanksgiving, the family have now spread their wings to widen the Queen's celebrations across the UK. Anne, the Princess Royal, has arrived in Epsom for the Derby Day with her family after a quick trip to Edinburgh Zoo in Scotland.

Members of the Royal Family have shared sweet messages of well wishes to Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's daughter Lilibet on her first birthday on Saturday 4 June.The Duke and Duchess of Sussex's daughter Lilibet, who was recently introduced to her namesake the Queen, are celebrating their daughter's milestone birthday in the UK, after jetting from the US for the Queen's Jubilee celebrations. And as Meghan, 40, Harry, 37, celebrate Lilibet's big day, the Queen and other members of the Royal Family have shared sweet messages to the tot on social media.The Queen tweeted on her The Royal Family account: "Wishing Lilibet a very Happy 1st Birthday!" Get exclusive celebrity stories and fabulous photoshoots straight to your inbox with OK!'s daily newsletter.

Platinum Jubilee flyover will go down in history. The 4-year-old son of Prince William and Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge, became instant meme-worthy gold for images of him covering his ears and making “Home Alone” Macaulay Culkin-inspired faces while standing next to his great-grandma. Twitter immediately erupted with the photo of a stone-cold Elizabeth alongside a screaming Louis with a variety of hilarious interpretations.

Queen’s Jubilee celebrations on Thursday. The couple — who notoriously quit royal life back in January 2020 — have returned to the UK for their first joint public appearance since they spectacularly trashed the royal family in an infamous televised interview with Oprah Winfrey 14 months ago.

Queens Jubilee flyover Thursday after he was seen adorably covering his ears next to the Queen — among other cute antics — as planes soared over Buckingham Palace. The 4-year-old’s adorable display occurred after the The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s youngest son joined his family on the famous balcony during the Jubilee flypast amid huge cheers from the crowd on The Mall.

Paul Burrell, former butler to the British Royal Family, appeared on Thursday morning's episode of Lorraine where he gave an insight into what would be happening ahead of the Queen's Platinum Jubilee. Paul, 63, worked with the royals from the age of 18 and served the Queen, 96, for 11 years.This weekend the nation is celebrating her impressive 70 years on the throne. Whilst reminiscing about his time with Her Majesty, the ex-footman spoke about how when he arrived at Buckingham Palace as a young man.

The Queen is celebrating her Platinum Jubilee this weekend, marking 70 years of her reign. While the event is bound to be full of plenty of joyous moments for the longest reigning monarch in British history, it will also be the first milestone the Queen is celebrating without Prince Philip by her side.The Queen became a widow last year when Prince Philip died aged 99 after 73 years of marriage. She previously paid tribute to her beloved husband calling him her “strength and stay” over the years.

With the Platinum Jubilee celebrations upon us, there has been an interest in what the Royal Family might wear over the course of the Bank Holiday weekend. Fashion expert and stylist to the stars, Miranda Holder, gave OK! an insight into the outfit choices of the famous family, while also sharing a rather surprising etiquette rule that women in the Royal Family have to abide by.

Brits up and down the country are ready to enjoy a long weekend of Platinum Jubilee celebrations to commemorate the Queen's 70 years on the throne. Street parties, live music outside Buckingham Palace, and a national beacon lighting ceremony illuminating specially-designed Jubilee structures in a global display are part of the huge celebrations. Meanwhile, staff at Buckingham Palace are "determined" to help the Queen reach the famous balcony for Trooping The Colour, with new lifts reportedly having been installed inside the 3,000-year-old palace.

The 2 June marks a big day for The Queen as it was the date in which her coronation in 1953 took place following the death of her father, King George VI, on 6 February 1952. In order to prepare for what was the biggest day of her life, Her Majesty worked with designer Sir Norman Hartnell who is known for creating various outfits for the Royal Family, most noticeably The Queen's wedding gown to Prince Phillip five years prior.The ceremony followed tradition in the sense that is was held at Westminster Abbey where it had been held for over 900 years, however, it was the very first that it was televised and received over 27million viewers form the UK alone.

Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee celebration. A new music video was cut using footage from the performance video shot by Julien Temple at the marquee in May 1977 and clips of the Thames riverboat party on the Silver Jubilee day in June that same year. It also features exclusive footage of some of the earliest, most important and influential female fans of the band including Vivienne, Jordan, Debbie and Tracey, Catwoman and Helen of Troy.The song, with the same title as the British national anthem, was originally released in 1977 during the Queen’s Silver Jubilee.

Platinum Jubilee, celebrating her 70 years on the throne.The stones feature eight portraits, including a photo from the queen’s coronation in 1953, a picture of her riding a horse in the 1960s, an appearance at the Royal Windsor Horse Show in 2017 and more. “We’ve brought two British icons together to mark the #PlatinumJubilee! We’ve projected eight portraits of Queen Elizabeth II onto Stonehenge,” said the English Heritage organization, which cares for the historic landmark, in a statement on Twitter.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wax figures re-joined the royal family's display room ahead of the queen's Platinum Jubilee next month.The famous wax museum originally separated the Duke and Duchess of Sussex' figures from the rest of their family members when the couple moved to California in 2020. Their reunion this week is only temporary, meant to commemorate their return to the UK to celebrate Queen Elizabeth's 70-year reign. «It felt only right that our figures come together once more on our Royal Throne Room set to join in the family festivities,» Tim Waters, Madame Tussauds London general manager, said in a statement. «We have a long history with The Royal Family, with British monarchs doing us the honour of sitting for our artists since 1809.

Waxworks of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been reunited with the British Royals in honour of Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee.

Platinum Jubilee, a slew of celebrations to honor her seven-decade reign, as well as the Windsors who came before her, held from June 2 to June 5.Trooping the Colour refers to a military parade tied to the anniversary of the British monarchy, which enters its 260th year with the upcoming festivities. Traditionally, the queen would attend the parade in Whitehall, either on horseback or, in later years, by carriage, to be greeted by a royal salute as she carries out a symbolic inspection of the troops.Instead, she’ll receive her salute by proxy — via her son and heir Prince Charles, 73, daughter Princess Anne, 71, and grandson Prince William, 39.