As the United Kingdom and the world mourns the death of Queen Elizabeth II, we are bearing witness to some of the more unique traditions in British society.
Overnight this has meant viewers being introduced to a horse named Lord Firebrand, or Yogi for short.
Many others hearing about him on social media may be thinking …
Wait, who is Lord Firebrand?
No, he's not Lord Farquaad from Shrek.
Yogi is one of the roughly 130 horses that form part of the King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery — a ceremonial mounted unit of the British Army.
On Wednesday, Lord Firebrand — yes, that is his official name — was the horse at the head of the procession taking the Queen's body from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall.
Her coffin was placed on a gun carriage for the journey.
The officer commanding the funeral gun team, Captain Amy Cooper, was riding Lord Firebrand.
She told Sky News UK Lord Firebrand is 14 years old and has been on "countless parades", including the Queen's Birthday Parade.
"He's so reliable and very handsome," Captain Cooper said.
"He's often ridden at the front to be parade commander when we're firing guns."
So the King has a unit of horses?
Yes. It retained the name of the King's Troop, despite Queen Elizabeth II sitting on the throne for seven decades, as her way of honouring her father.
Originating in the 18th Century, the present unit was formed in the aftermath of World War II. They're stationed at the Woolwich barracks in London's east.
The King's Troop has carried the coffins of King George VI and Diana, Princess of Wales, in 1952 and 1997 respectively.
But why was he named Lord Firebrand?
Horses belonging to the King's Troop are named in two separate ways, according to this interview with a British bombardier.
Gun team horses have names which start with the first letter of the commanding officer's last name, such as Battleaxe and Bellagio.
Meanwhile, "chargers" are named after characters in novels by 19th century author Robert Smith Surtees. Horses named this way include The Duke of Dazzleton, Miss Lovelace, Lucy Glitters, and Lord Firebrand.
Like many things in British society, it's not quite known how this naming convention came about.
Why was the King's Troop chosen?
Every detail of the Queen's mourning period was approved by the Queen herself before her death, so it's likely the King's Troop's appearance was a personal choice.
This would come as no surprise, given Queen Elizabeth's well-known love of horses.
In addition to attending Britain's premier racing event — Royal Ascot — the Queen also had links to racing in Australia and even had one of her horses run at the Melbourne Cup.
Have we seen the last of him?
Through the rest of the Queen's period of mourning, we're not sure.
On the day of her funeral, the Queen's coffin will be taken from Westminster Hall to Westminster Abbey by the gun carriage. This will happen on Monday morning UK time (September 19), but it will be a much shorter event than the first procession.
It's likely the King's Troop could have a role in this procession.
Beyond that, the unit's website says steeds from the King's Troop are regularly deployed to Central London, the Royal Welsh and Royal Windsor Horse Shows, the Netherlands and Canada.
In other words, if you wait around London long enough, there's a chance you could see Lord Firebrand in action.
