The teddy bear the late Queen wanted on her sofa every night

As the late Queen Elizabeth II worked at her desk in Scotland, she was watched by a small teddy bear dressed in tartan and perched on the pink sofa nearby.

Known as Haddington Bear, after a nearby East Lothian town, the teddy was in position every day as Her Majesty worked her way through her red boxes at the Palace of Holyroodhouse, at the special request of the monarch.

The bear is one of the personal touches on display from Thursday, as the Royal Collection Trust opens the doors of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip’s private apartments for the first time.

Emma Stead, the curator for the Palace of Holyroodhouse, said: “The Queen was given him as a gift and after that she asked that whenever she arrived here, he be placed in that particular position on the sofa awaiting her arrival.”

Visitors to the official residence of the monarch in Scotland will be able to see the late Queen’s sitting room, dressing room and where she ate breakfast, as well as Prince Philip’s desk, art collection and his own oil painting of the landscape from Balmoral.

They offer a rare insight into the couple at work and at rest, with an ordinary television on a plastic stand holding a VHS player, and the radio the Queen listened to as she dressed both on display.

Guides will point out the chair she sat in while eating breakfast alone after the death of her husband, and the table where she would pour out tea for her family after boiling the kettle herself.

Dr Richard Williams, learning curator at the Royal Collection Trust, said: “These are not rooms with grand chandeliers. These rooms are much more liveable, domestic, very comfortable spaces of a modern couple.

“It does give us a quite new insight into this aspect of the life of Queen Elizabeth II. The contrast is really quite marked.”

The late Queen spent “Royal Week” in the palace every year, where she hosted a garden party, audiences and undertook her business of state in Scotland amid public engagements.

The rooms are still part of the working palace, now used by the King and Queen Camilla, but will be opened to the public for 100 days when they are not in residence.

Three of the late Queen’s outfits will also be on show, in a small room with a large wardrobe and a dressing table upon which a Roberts radio is set to Radio 4.

Curators said the late Queen liked to listen to the radio as she dressed, going through three to five outfits per day when she was on duty, although they did not know whether she preferred to listen to music or news.

The art on the walls was chosen by the late Queen and Prince Philip, who built a collection of contemporary art with a focus on oil paintings and female artists. Many of the works are landscapes, with some still life of daffodils or watermelons, and some industrial scenes and seascapes.

Among Prince Philip’s personal items are a model ship in a glass case, and a model canon on his desk.

The Queen’s sitting room, which is decorated in pink and green, includes a pin cushion in the Union flag colours, and Haddington Bear.

Ms Stead added: “She had a few personal objects that she liked to be placed quite precisely.

“Another one is the pin cushion just to the left of the fireplace, which was presented to her when she attended the Commonwealth Games in 1986 in Edinburgh, and it has all the badges of the represented countries who took part.”

Learning curator Richard Williams added: “All we can say is the Queen was very particular and that always would have gone there.

“I know from staff colleagues in Windsor that if they were going to redecorate her private rooms, they would take photos of everything so that they could put things back in the exact spot.”

The rooms date from the 17th century and have been used by successive monarchs and members of the Royal family since the reign of Queen Victoria. Much of the decoration, including the tapestries on the walls and embroidered chairs, was overseen by Queen Mary in the reign of George V.

The private rooms are furnished with historic objects from the Royal Collection, as well as pieces from Elizabeth and Philip’s personal collections.

Framed photographs on the desks show the late Queen and her husband in Scotland over their 70-year marriage, with her late father and mother and Princess Margaret. her sister.

In the breakfast room, visitors will hear about the late Queen’s routine while in residence.

Dr Williams said: “She would take breakfast between 9am and 9.15am, with the Queen’s piper playing down below in the garden.

“She and the Duke of Edinburgh would be here, the Scotsman newspaper would be delivered, also the Radio Times and the Racing Post as well.

“The Queen always knew everything that was going on.

“After the Duke of Edinburgh passed away, breakfast was the only meal that she would eat by herself, and she would sit in the chair with her back to the fireplace so she could see all the members of staff and people’s comings and goings in front of her.

“For other times of the day, she would eat with members of the Royal family.”

The tours conclude in the sitting room where the late Queen would work, reviewing the papers and documents presented in government red boxes, as well as using the room for private audiences or resting between engagements, often while watching horse racing on television.

The tours of the private rooms will run daily for 100 days from Thursday until September 10, closing only for this year’s Royal Week.

[Source: Daily Telegraph]