Royal guards forced to walk through poo during funeral procession

Mother Nature largely played ball during the Queen’s funeral on Monday (19 September); the skies remained dry and temperatures weren’t too nippy, but unfortunately, some of the animals involved in the procession did deposit rather large turds.

Even more unfortunately, said turds were dropped right in the procession path, meaning many royal guards had to trudge through poo with freshly polished shoes. 

The internet was quick to pick up on all the poo knocking about, with many saying they felt bad for all the guards who had no choice but to march through the droppings. Watch footage below:

Beneath footage of royal guards marching through horse poo shared on TikTok, one person wrote: “All those hours of shoe shining.”

Another added: “What have they been feeding the horses yesterday? It was everywhere.”

While a third person pondered: “Why don’t they have bags to collect it so people don’t have to step in it” while a fourth quipped: “For King and country.”

“Welcome to military parades. If you're skilled enough you can kick it up the back of the legs of the guy in front,” commented a fifth TikToker. 

Horse poo wasn’t the only thing that left eagle-eyed viewers perplexed during the Queen’s funeral on Monday.

Earlier in the day, social media users were asking questions about the identity of a ‘seven foot man’ who was seen walking in the procession. 

The sight of the mourner, who wore a black suit with a medal pinned to his chest, prompted many people to take to Twitter to try and figure out who he is, with one person writing: "How tall is this guy? Who is he?"

As it turns out, the rather tall mourner actually played a very special part in the late Queen's life, and is thought to be Matthew Magee, a former assistant private secretary to Her Majesty. 

Magee - who stands at 7ft 2in tall - also previously served as private secretary to the Duke of Kent, Prince Edward, and a royal insider told The Sun he was chosen to work with the Queen because of his 'brilliant brain'.

“He is a smashing guy with a great sense of humour and the Queen will love working with him on a daily basis," they previously explained. 

Since her passing on 8 Septembr, the Queen has since been laid to rest at the King George VI memorial chapel, in St George's Chapel. She has been buried alongside her husband, Prince Philip, who passed away in April 2021.