Teddy bears have universal appeal, and why would British celebrities be immune to their charm?

Despite the Teddy Bear originating in the United States, the British have taken the Bear to their hearts.

Many famous British people are known to have indulged their fondness for teddy bears.

Some stars choose to dress their bears in tiny children's clothes, like Paddington Bear, and others prefer their bears au naturel, with the wind blowing in their fur.

Statue of Paddington Bear can be found in at the railway station in London.

Tony Blair owned a teddy called Lynton, whom he donated to a teddy bear museum in Stratford on Avon and he is not the only British Prime Minister known to love bears.

Past British Prime Minister Tony Blair

Margaret Thatcher owned a bear

called Humphrey.

Dame Judi Dench is a well-known teddy bear collector.

In the world of show business there is no shortage of collectors from across the pond either.

Ringo Starr of The Beatles collects teddy bears while Paul McCarthy gives a teddy away during an appearance.

The first is a famous British poet who was so devoted to his bear that he went to extraordinary lengths to keep him by his side throughout his life.

The poet Laureate John Betjeman owned a beloved bear grandly named Archibald Ormsby-Gore - Archie for short.

Jumbo the Elephant was another close companion, but it was Archie who held the dearest place in Betjeman's heart. He wrote a poem about his bear, which is heart-breakingly candid in its expression of tenderness, and clearly captures the love of boy for bear, as a companion in woe and a comfort:

"The dreaded evening keyhole scratch
Announcing some return below
The nursery landing's lifted latch,
The punishment to undergo
Still I could smooth those half-moon ears
And wet that forehead with my tears."

From 'Archibald' by - John Betjeman

Despite hiding Archie in the attic when he was nine to prove to his father that he was not 'soft', Betjeman later risked the ridicule of his peers by taking Archie up to Cambridge University with him.

Far from being ridiculed Archie became the influence for Sebastian Flyte's bear Aloysius, in Evelyn Waugh's Brideshead Revisited. Sebastian, a typical young English aristocrat, took Aloysius with him everywhere.

Later Betjeman later wrote stories for his children, which featured Archie, called Archie and the Strict Baptists, in which the bear rides a hedgehog to church and has a keep interest in archaeology.

A great Englishman, Sir John Betjeman was made Poet Laureate in 1972.

When he died ten years later in 1982 he held Archie, and Jumbo the elephant, in his arms, still finding comfort in their presence at the end of his life.

Arguably the most famous British teddy bear owner was Christopher Robin Milne, son of A. A Milne, the author of the Winnie the Pooh books.

Little Christopher was taken to London zoo as a small boy, and there saw a black bear named Winnie. He listened to the tale of Winnie's arrival at the zoo and was smitten.

Winnie was purchased from a fur hunter for $20 by a kind-hearted Lieutenant in the Canadian Army. Lieutenant Harry Colebourne smuggled Winnie into England where he was due to serve during the First World War. Winnie became an Army mascot, but was left with London Zoo while Harry went to fight in France.

Later he was donated to the zoo and lived out his days there.

Christopher Robin was so enchanted by this tale that he named his own bear Winnie. He later added 'Pooh' in honour of a swan of the same name he met on holiday.

Winnie the Pooh must be the most famous bear in the world, along with Christopher's other animals, Kanga, Eeyore, Piglet and Tigger. Together they have enchanted generations of children with their adventures in the Hundred Acre Wood.

The literary world has its share of famous teddies, but the British Royal Family are well known animal lovers, a fondness that extends to teddy bears! Queen Victoria loved her bear, as did our current Queen Elizabeth.

No doubt their bears were of the finest quality. Prince Phillip donated his bear to the same Teddy Museum as Tony Blair, where it sat with other famous bears, including Mr. Bean's teddy.

I wonder what they talked about?

The collection was finally auctioned for 2008, so Teddy collectors, keep your eyes open for some famous British bears on your travels.

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Writer-Member since September 2011