What's The Buzz?

And the headline read:

 THE QUEEN'S BEES HAVE BEEN INFORMED OF HER DEATH

And in all the sadness of the mournful rituals attending Her Majesty's passing, we decided this was the most English thing ever.

And I'm guess a lot of us thought at first it was some sort of gag, leading into a Monty Python or even a Benny Hill routine.

But no, 'twas all true to form. The Royal Housekeeper, 79 years of age, told the news, “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... 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.’ "

According to the New York Times, the tradition goes back many centuries.

“It’s a very old and well-established tradition, but not something that’s very well-known,” said Mark Norman, a folklorist and the author of “Telling the Bees and Other Customs: The Folklore of Rural Crafts.”..

The Royal Beekeeper

18th and 19th-Century English men and women thought that if the bees were not notified of a death at the top of the family, all sort of trouble would result, up to and including the death or "sudden departure" of the person who failed to make the notifications to the buzzers.

Or they would stop making honey, just for spite.

Today's beekeepers don't necessarily buy the bad luck/ no honey doom predictions, but then again, they aren't about to discontinue the tradition, out of "a mark of respect,” Mr. Norman said.

It's an interesting tradition, and like a lot of customs from the long-ago era, it indicates honor for nature, which is not a bad thing at all.