THE MERRY BLOG | MAY 2026

A Royal Reunion: Merrythought’s “Roo” is Presented to New York by HM The Queen!

In April 2026, a very special little someone completed an extraordinary journey - from Merrythought’s Shropshire-based factory to New York!

Our talented team was honoured to be entrusted with recreating "Roo", the missing member of the original Winnie-the-Pooh collection held at the New York Public Library. In a memorable moment, Roo was personally delivered by Her Majesty Queen Camilla, reuniting him with Kanga and restoring the group once cherished by Christopher Robin.

The Queen had been visiting the library as part of an official State Visit. A champion for literacy and reading, and founder of the charity 'The Queen's Reading Room', Her Majesty read an excerpt from Winnie-the-Pooh and presented Merrythought's adorable new 'Roo' to an audience of happy children, who were each lucky to receive their own Edward Bear too!

The gift reunites Roo with Winnie-the-Pooh, Piglet, Tigger, Eeyore, and Kanga, the original stuffed animals that belonged to Christopher Robin Milne and inspired the books first published in 1926. While the five surviving toys crossed from the United Kingdom to the United States in 1947 and have been on permanent public display at the library since 1987, Roo—the baby kangaroo—was lost in an English apple orchard in the 1930s and has long been absent from the collection.

The newly crafted design is based on a ‘Roo’ made by Farnell (a brand owned by Merrythought) that was made in the early 1920s and is believed to be the same product as Christopher Robin’s own ‘Roo’.

"It has been such an honour for the team at Merrythought to be part of this project, reuniting Roo with Kanga and completing this missing piece of Winnie-the-Pooh’s history." Sarah Holmes, Managing Director of Merrythought.

The heart-warming presentation formed part of a celebration marking 100 years since the first publication of Winnie-the-Pooh, and a century of joy these stories have brought to generations.

Merrythought also produces a replica of Christopher Robin’s childhood teddy bear, Edward, who inspired the original Winnie-the-Pooh books.

Roo’s journey concludes a transatlantic story began nearly a century ago by his fictional friends, and reflects the enduring literary ties between the UK and the US, and the timeless magic of these beloved characters.