The sand in the streets of London for the coronation of Charles III raises questions. Royal fans wonder why workers started paving the sand in the morning hours.
London – King Charles III (74) and his wife Camilla (75) drive through the streets of London from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey in his golden carriage. But what is it? Sand lies on the streets of London. A crowning glory is not a beach party. The weather isn't that bad either. While some Royal fans are still completely in the dark, attentive observers are slowly seeing the light.
Sand causes astonishment at the coronation of King Charles III
But even at the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II (96, 2022), the streets were prepared with sand early in the morning before the carriage with its coffin was pulled through the streets. Many high-ranking politicians from all over the world travelled to the event on Monday, and numerous Britons also mourned on the streets. Here, too, the local people are surprised by the large amounts of sand that have been poured onto some streets. Many later speculated what was behind it and what purpose the sand could serve.
Most often it was assumed that the sand had been poured out for the horses. The Sun quoted a Twitter user as saying that the sand mainly prevents the horses from slipping. In addition, it is easier to remove horse piles from the roads, and the sand also dampens the sounds of the hooves.
The Mirror brought yet another aspect to the guesswork surrounding the sand. Charles was worried at the funeral that horses could do their business at an inopportune time during the procession, forcing him and other royals to evade, it said. According to a royal source, Charles wanted to avoid this undignified sight at all costs. He would have had to ride himself or not walk behind the coffin to prevent that. But a solution was more obvious.
The path in front of Westminster Abbey was groomed with sand? Fans wonder what the slippery surface is used for (photomontage). © Stephen Lock/Imago & Sina Schuldt/dpa
In the end, it was decided that no horses should run in front of the royals. So they actually had to go further back than originally planned, so that the question of whether "the new king has to bypass horse manure" did not even arise. At his coronation, König was able to easily circumvent the problem, as he was taken in the carriage to the venerable compartment. Presumably, the streets are simply easier to clean after the procession due to the sand poured out. Or the sand is scattered for safety reasons. – All information, pictures and updates on the coronation of Charles III can be found here in the live ticker. Sources used: thesun.co.uk, mirror.co.uk