It’s become a popular way of saying farewell to Queen Elizabeth II in the days since her death but now those looking after the tributes beig left at royal palaces have advised well wishers to stop leaving marmalade sandwiches in her memory.
Amidst the seas of flowers, regular donations of sandwiches have been spotted, many of them bearing a note reading ‘for later’.
It is, of course, a reference to the famous moment in the Platinum Jubilee celebrations when Her Late Majesty appeared on screen with the bear from Peru to take tea and finally revealed what she kept in her famous handbag – marmalade sandwiches. She smiled as she told him they were ‘for later’.
However, the tributes are starting to turn mouldy. Many are also being left in freezer bags and now Royal Parks, which is responsible for the sites where many tributes are being placed, is asking people to leave plastic wrappings at home.
In fresh advice issued online, Royal Parks says ”The public will be asked to remove all wrapping from floral tributes and place these in the bins provided. Removing the wrapping will aid the longevity of the flowers and will assist in subsequent composting which will start between one week and a fortnight after the date of the funeral.”
Many of those attending the tribute site at Green Park had already removed the wrappings from their flowers while others decided to take the plastic off some other bouquets.
Royal Parks is also asking people to keep their tributes to organic material that can be composted and to no longer leave balloons and trinkets. Another popular memorial had been Paddington bear toys. It’s also reminding everyone that candles cannot be left.
However, cards and notes are accepted and these will be removed and kept afterwards.
Tens of thousands of people have already left tributes at Buckingham Palace. Flowers left there are being moved to two memorial sites – one at Green Park and another at Hyde Park which is for flowers that have started to fade.
Books of condolence are also open at churches around London and the UK. However, the Royal Family has chosen to host its condolence book online.
