Whether you watched the Coronation at the weekend or not, it was hard to miss the coverage on social media and one thing that we were enjoying was the haunting figure spotted during the ceremony. The figure, which looked to be cloaked and carrying a scythe, quickly scuttled by the open doors at Westminster Abbey, much to the horror of people watching live.
On Tiktok, creators were enjoying jokes about the figure being Princess Diana, King Charles’s first wife:
But Who Was The Cloaked Figure?
We’re sorry to tell you that the truth is nowhere near as exciting, or funny, as these theories. The cloaked figure walking by Westminster Abbey was a verger. The verger is a member of the abbey community that assists with religious ceremonies but they’re not a member of the clergy.
When vergers carry a rod, like in the clip shared from the King’s Coronation, they do so before a bishop or dean as a symbol of office.
According to The Church of England Guild of Vergers, their responsibilities include behind-the-scenes management of worship so it must have been quite the shock to be one of the main talking points of a huge ceremony this weekend!