Ah, the bees. Always the last to know.
John Chapple, the 79 year old royal beekeeper, has taken upon himself the duty of carrying on a royal tradition this morning, informing Queen Elizabeth II’s bees that the Queen has died.
The bees live in hives kept on the grounds of Buckingham Palace, as well as Clarence house.
The bees have also been informed that King Charles III is their new master. There has been no comment from the bees thus far, but sources have told us that the hive is buzzing.
Chapple revealed this to the Daily Mail, saying that he travelled to both locations to carry on the ritual that apparently dates back centuries. Chapple also put black ribbons tied into bows on each of the hives before telling them the news.
Chapple also reportedly told the bees to be good to their new master.
Apparently, the superstition goes that if this ritual is not kept up, the bees will not produce honey, will leave the hive, and even might die.
“I’m at the hives now and it is traditional when someone dies that you go to the hives and say a little prayer and put a black ribbon on the hive. I drape the hives with black ribbon with a bow. The person who has died is the master or mistress of the hives, someone important in the family who dies and you don’t get any more important than the Queen, do you?” Chapple told the Daily Mail.
“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. I’ve done the hives at Clarence House and I’m now in Buckingham Palace doing their hives,” Chapple continued.
There are over a million bees in the hives, who listened to the news Chapple delivered.
“‘In Clarence House there are two hives and in Buckingham Palace there are 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 continued.
Chapple has been doing the job for 15 years, initially unaware that he was even interviewing for the gig.
“I got an email from the head gardener here at Buckingham Palace to come here and talk about bees. I thought they had a problem with bees but it turned out they wanted to keep bees so henceforth I look after the bees here,” Chapple said.
Chapple is officially retired at 79, considering this a hobby. He would like to continue the role under the new king. Perhaps the bees will put in the good word for him.