In the days since Her Majesty's death, hundreds of thousands of mourners have flocked to the royal residences to pay their respects. From Buckingham Palace to Balmoral Castle, royal fans have gathered to leave tributes to Britain's longest-serving monarch, who passed away last week at the age of 96.
Amongst the tributes left for the Queen are flowers, cards and balloons – but there's one item in particular that mourners are being asked not to leave: marmalade sandwiches.
To recap, earlier this year the Queen took part in a comedy sketch with Paddington bear to mark her Platinum Jubilee. In the clip, Her Majesty revealed that she kept a hidden snack – a marmalade sandwich – in her purse at all times for "emergencies". Truly a woman after our own hearts!
But the heartfelt gesture from royal fans to leave sandwiches in memory of Her Majesty is causing problems for The Royal Parks organisation. "We are asking people not to leave marmalade sandwiches because of the negative impact on the park’s wildlife," the charity said in response to the tributes being left at sites including the official floral tribute garden in London's Green Park.
"Our priority at the moment is to manage the huge volume of flowers and tributes that are being left in the Green Park floral tribute garden," it added. "We will carefully store any teddies and artefacts that have been left and will work closely with our partners, including Buckingham Palace, to agree what we do with them over the next few months with discretion and sensitivity."
So far, thousands of floral tributes have been laid at the site, which was set up the day after the Queen's passing due to the amount of tributes being left at the gates of Buckingham Palace. The gates has since been fenced off and all tributes left there are being moved to Green Park.
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"Any flowers left in the proximity of Buckingham Palace will be sensitively moved at the end of each day to the Green Park tribute site," the organisation explained.
"Tributes will be left on site until all ceremonial activity has taken place. It is expected that all floral tributes will be removed from park areas from seven to fourteen days after the date of the funeral."
As the space put aside for the tributes gradually fills, The Royal Parks organisation has said it is already looking to provide alternative locations for tributes, including in London's Hyde Park.
Our thoughts remain with the Royal Family at this emotional time.
