An interesting royal tradition has surfaced since the passing of Queen Elizabeth II, and it couldn’t be more lovely.
It’s understood the Queen’s bees have been informed of her death.
As part of tradition, the Queen’s official beekeeper John Chapple, 79, was required drape each beehive at Buckingham Palace and Clarence House with black ribbon before letting them know what was going on.
“You knock on each hive and say, ‘The mistress is dead, but don’t you go. Your master will be a good master to you’,” he told MailOnline.
via MailOnline
Clarence House has two hives and Buckingham Palace has five.
“At this time of year each hive contains 20,000 each, maybe a bit more but I’m not very good at counting them. It’s over a million in the summer,” Chapple remarked.
‘Telling the bees’ is a traditional custom of many European countries in which bees would be told of important events in their keeper’s lives, such as births, marriages, or departures and returns in the household.
If the bees were not informed and not ‘put into mourning’ then it was believed a penalty would be paid, such as the bees leaving their hive, stopping the production of honey or dying.
Tiktokker @matta_of_fact also connected this custom to the Outlander series, where the bee motif is frequently used.
@matta_of_fact The #Queen’s bees have been informed of her passing 🐝🍯 #royals #royalfamily #queenelizabeth #elizabethii #kingcharles #buckinghampalace #clarencehouse #charlesiii #royalhistory #britishroyalfamily #greenscreen ♬ Aesthetic – Tollan Kim
