What will happen to the flowers left outside Buckingham Palace after the Queen's death?
LONDON, UK: Buckingham Palace gates have been swamped by a 'sea of flowers' by mourners paying their respects to late Queen Elizabeth II. Meanwhile, royal gardeners are having a hard time removing the plastic off the thousands of bouquets left outside the royal residence. Many of the mourners were also seen removing plastic off the flower bouquets to help the royal gardeners finish the colossal job.
Queen Elizabeth II passed away at age 96 peacefully at her Balmoral estate after a record reign of decades. The Queen's demise has struck the world with grief, with many paying their respects in different ways. Outside London's Green Park, created as the official memorial flower garden, a huge mound of flowers has grown to honor the Queen's loving memory near Buckingham Palace.
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An incredible show of affection by people can be seen as they leave countless flowers, cards, toys, candles, etc. Now people of the community who visited the royal garden to pay their respect with their families and children were seen assisting royal gardeners by taking off the plastic from the bouquets as many of these flowers will be turned into compost for royal gardens the way it was done after Princess Diana in 1997. As most bouquets are wrapped in paper or plastic they will have to be removed first, leaving the royal gardeners facing a humungous challenge as they tackle the mountain of bouquets up until and past the Queen's state funeral on Monday, September 19. Monday marks the third official day of mourning.
Tributes left at the Palace are removed every 12 hours; and similarly the same action has been taken around other residences to avoid tributes mounting to unmanageable amounts.
Queen Elizabeth's coffin will make its way to St Giles' Cathedral in a funeral procession Monday, September 12, as the grieving people of Scotland say goodbye to their beloved Queen and will lie in rest there until September 13; her body will then be flown to RAF Northolt by a military plane, accompanied by her daughter Anne.
Tens of thousands of flowers continue to collect outside royal residences after the news broke of her demise. A sign outside Windsor Castle reads, "Your flowers are greatly appreciated, It may be necessary to move your flowers, if so, they will be placed in a secure area outside St George’s Chapel or along Cambridge Drive. All messages and cards will be kept safely for the Royal Family to read."