A Double Rainbow Appeared Over Buckingham Palace Shortly Before the Queen’s Death Was Announced

(Image credit: Getty Images)

The most beautiful occurrence happened over Buckingham Palace this afternoon—just one hour before the Queen’s death was announced, a double rainbow broke through the clouds and appeared in the skies over Buckingham Palace in London, Her Majesty’s residence for most of her historic 70-year reign.

At the time, crowds had already gathered at the Palace after officials announced just after 12 p.m. London time that the Queen was “under medical supervision,” per The Mirror.

After a heavy downpour, the double rainbow appeared, “giving comfort to those in the crowd who were eagerly awaiting an update,” the outlet reports.

At 6:30 p.m. London time, the Palace announced that Her Majesty “died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon.”

The rainbow could be seen not just over the Palace but over major landmarks across London, including the Elizabeth Tower in Westminster and the Queen Victoria Memorial.

About 90 minutes before the announcement, a woman laid the first bouquet at the Palace just after 5 p.m. The crowd assembled outside of the Palace has grown to around 1,000 people, The Mirror reports.

King Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla are due to the Palace tomorrow. They remain at Balmoral for the rest of the evening.

The rainbow, at least to this writer, serves as proof that, even in a dark hour, something altogether magical can appear.

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Rachel Burchfield is a writer, editor, and podcaster whose primary interests are fashion and beauty, society and culture, and, most especially, the British Royal Family and other royal families around the world. She serves as Marie Claire’s Senior Celebrity and Royals Editor and has also contributed to publications like Allure, Cosmopolitan, Elle, Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, InStyle, People, Vanity Fair, Vogue, and W, among others. Before taking on her current role with Marie Claire, Rachel served as its Weekend Editor and later Royals Editor. She is the cohost of Podcast Royal, a show that was named a top five royal podcast by The New York Times. A voracious reader and lover of books, Rachel also hosts I’d Rather Be Reading, which spotlights the best current nonfiction books hitting the market and interviews the authors of them. Rachel frequently appears as a media commentator, and she or her work has appeared on outlets like NBC’s Today Show, ABC’s Good Morning America, CNN, and more.