While the very media coronation of Charles III took place on Saturday, May 6, under the watchful eye of BBC cameras and Internet users, some are sure: the "Grim Reaper" was present among them, in the middle of Westminster Abbey. A video posted on TikTok shows a mysterious shadow, walking with a hurried step through the choir of the building, apparently dressed in a hood and as if equipped with a scythe. "No, it can't just be me who saw it, my God," a certain "stxabs" exclaims. More than 3 million views in 4 hours, 420,000 likes, 7000,<> comments: the extract becomes viral and the Web ignites. Some question the identity of the silhouette, and recall the bad omens of imminent death associated with the figure of the Grim Reaper inherited from the Middle Ages.
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Cascading speculations
Twitter, in turn, is the place of all speculation. "Is the grim reaper at Westminster Abbey? Or is Princess Diana seeking revenge?" shares one user, referring to the first wife of King Charles, to whom the latter preferred Camilla Parker Bowles. now queen.
For another, it is simply a warning: "When you have a Grim Reaper who invites herself to a royal coronation it is that it will not last long". Another "twitto" goes even further: "I think it's Meghan who sneaks in..." If many like to talk, between irony and credulity, the tabloids also seize the news. "'The Grim Reaper' appears at Westminster Abbey at the coronation," tweets the British media The Sun, in a serious tone that could almost be confusing.
A rational explanation
And yet, at the risk of disappointing Internet users and putting an end to smoky theories, the silhouette captured is actually a bedeau, a member of the abbey community. As a lay employee, he took care of the organization of the office and its smooth running, without being a member of the clergy. Westminster Abbey, probably embarrassed by the general runaway, finally cracked these details with the American media Newsweek, once the ceremony was over.
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Distribution of blessed bread, cleaning of the church... The bedeau is in a way the "handyman" of the priest - hence, no doubt, the prompt appearance of the person filmed.