SWEET AS HONEY

The Royal Beekeeper Has Informed the Hives of Queen Elizabeth II's Passing

In line with the tradition of the "telling of the bees," Buckingham Palace's massive collection of beehives have been told that their new owner is King Charles III.

Say goodbye to your Queen, queen bees—you’ll now be King Charles III’s bees instead. After the passing of Queen Elizabeth II, the royal beekeeper has informed Buckingham Palace's hives of her death. The “telling of the bees” is a long held tradition in Europe; the custom requires bees to be told of important deaths, births, weddings, and other household events. In some circumstances, bees can even be invited to the funeral. The bees have been dressed for the occasion, sporting black ribbons to mourn the loss of their former ruler. The royal beekeeper informed the massive collection of over 30,000 bees that their master had passed, and that the now belonged to King Charles III and to “treat him well.”