When Queen Elizabeth II died on Sept. 8, 2022 , the whole world learned of her passing. Television, radio and newspapers spread the word, but it was up to one man, John Chapple, to inform tens of thousands of her tiniest subjects — her bees.

Chapple, the late Queen’s beekeeper, went first to Clarence House and then Buckingham Palace to perform his somber duty of telling the bees , a centuries-old custom of informing the bees when their owner has died. Rooted in Celtic tradition, this practice ensures that the bees will remain with their hives and continue to produce honey. According to folklore, failure to notify the bees invites disaster. They will stop making honey, abandon their homes or even die themselves. Chapple tied black ribbons around the hives to allow the bees to mourn

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