The wreath is ephemeral and will be removed or rot away. The 30th January was known in the Anglican Church Calendar as the Feast Day of St Charles the Martyr. It referred to the beheading – the regicide – of King Charles I in 1649. Martyr, or demagogue enshrining the worst excesses of the Devine Right of Kings? An ephemeral symbol of an enduring myth.
Photo: Whitehall, 28th January 2013