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The Sussexes

Build-A-Bear donates 1,000 teddy bears in honour of Archie to hospitals

The Build-A-Bear Workshop is donating 1,000 teddy bears to hospitals, infirmaries and, maternity units across the United Kingdom in honour of Archie Harrison’s birth. Each teddy bear included a commemorative tag and special birth certificate showing their royal relations and ‘birth.’

Build-A-Bear explained in a press release, “As part of Build-A-Bear’s everyday celebration of birthdays and in honour of the newest addition to the UK’s royal family, the beloved brand today announced a donation of 1,000 teddy bears to a variety of royal hospitals, infirmaries and maternity units across the UK, which were gifted to babies born the day the birth of the newest royal baby was officially announced! Any remaining bears are being gifted to infants born at the hospitals today and in the coming days.”

(Left to right) Carmen with daughter Sienna Rose and husband Michael Barrett with Ava Grace from Petersfield with toy bears as they arrive at the Royal Surrey County Hospital. Matt Alexander/PA Wire

“As the nation has eagerly awaited the birth of the latest little royal, many prospective parents have been counting down to the arrival of their own tiny prince or princess. To celebrate this historic occasion and the special birthdays of new-borns across the country, 1,000 bears have been delivered to 10 royal hospitals chosen for their highly-commended maternity facilities,” they continued.

A toy bear arrives at the Royal Surrey County Hospital. Matt Alexander/PA Wire

These ten hospitals were Dumfries & Galloway Royal Infirmary, Gloucestershire Royal Hospital, Royal Albert Edward Infirmary, Royal Devon & Exeter, Royal Bournemouth, Royal Victoria Infirmary, Royal Lancaster Infirmary, Royal Hallamshire Hospital, Royal Surrey Country Hospital, and Sunderland Royal Hospital.

About the donations, Roger Parry, senior managing director for Build-A-Bear Workshop in Europe, remarked, “We love birthdays at Build-A-Bear, and we know the anticipation of a royal baby causes a wave of excitement worldwide. We wanted to share the excitement with parents of new babies all over the UK by giving them special bear hugs to commemorate such a special day.”

(Left to right) Royal Surrey Maternity Staff – Sarah Borders, Nitu Pun, Tracy Thompson, Tina Harding and fundraiser Holly Bird with a delivery of toy bears as they arrive at the Royal Surrey County Hospital. Matt Alexander/PA Wire

Want to get a new teddy bear for your child? You can get a 25% off discount in honour of the royal baby. Build-A-Bear is offering the 25% off a furry friend purchase at buildabear.co.uk from Wednesday, 8 May, using code “ROYALBABY”! More details can be found here.

About author

Brittani is from Tennessee, USA. She is a political scientist and historian after graduating with a degree in the topics from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, in December 2014. She also holds a master's degree from Northeastern University. She enjoys reading and researching all things regarding the royals of the world. She's been researching, reading, and writing on royalty for over a decade. She became Europe Editor in October 2016, and then Deputy Editor in January 2019, and has been featured on several podcasts, radio shows, news broadcasts and websites including Global News Canada, ABC News Australia, WION India and BBC World News.