Thousands across the globe tuned in to the historic Coronation last week at Westminster Abbey, which saw 74-year-old Charles officially crowned as King alongside his wife, now Queen Camilla, in a weekend of celebrations for the monarchy.
But one notable moment of the landmark event left many royal fans taking to Twitter confused at who the cloaked mysterious ‘Grim Reaper’ figure was, having briefly appeared in the background of the coverage on May 6.
During the ceremony, the 'figure' was seen in the live TV coverage scurrying beneath the rood screen of the abbey, holding what looked to be a long staff, although some people described it as a scythe, something that the Grim Reaper would be holding.
It sparked a string of people to take to social media puzzled at the identity of the 'mystery man' who were left confused at what his role was on the historic day, or more importantly who he actually was, with some joking it was Meghan Markle in disguise.
Westminster Abbey has confirmed who it actually was, and according to reports in the Mirror, there's no great story behind it and it was, in fact, just a verger going about his daily business during the service, which was watched by nearly 19 million people in the UK.
A verger is a member of the abbey community who assists with religious services, but who is not actually a member of the clergy, he is a layperson. He is basically a glorified caretaker or attendant in the abbey or other such place of worship.
And what about the 'long staff'? Well, nothing sinister, of course, as they can sometimes be seen carrying a rod before a bishop or dean as a symbol of office.
A recent job vacancy advert for a verger at Ripon Cathedral detailed how they were seeking someone to fill the role to be ‘involved in the presentation and maintenance of the Cathedral’.
Their main duties would mean they would be expected to ‘ensuring effective communication’, ‘assisting with the effective management of all events, liturgical and secular in the Cathedral, ‘with the proper care, preparation and maintenance of all items used in services’, aside from many other daily tasks.
For readers of an older persuasion, a verger conjures up images of Edward Sinclair Perry who played the jovial verger Mr Yeatman at St Aldhelm’s, and who was the vicar’s loyal servant, in Dad’s Army.
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