Double Rainbow Appears Across London on Eve of Late Queen Elizabeth II's Burial; How Rare Does This Sky Event Occur?

The mourning royal fans were delighted as the skies drew a vivid double rainbow over Buckingham Palace and Westminster during the sunset Sunday evening, the eve of the late monarch Queen Elizabeth II's funeral.

The British in the capital were left amazed at the sight of dozens of images that flooded social media.

A local government official shared a tweet with a photo of the sky, saying it was the most incredible rainbow over Westminster and the Palace during the Queen's burial.

Up to a million people are in line on the streets of London as the Queen's coffin was transported from Westminster Hall to Westminster Abbey amidst scenes of solemn pomp not seen since the late monarch's funeral, Queen Victoria.

King Charles III will be joined by political leaders around the world as he lays his mother to rest.

The Double Rainbow Formation

According to the Met Office, double rainbows are formed when the sunlight is reflected twice in a raindrop with the violet light that reaches the human's eyes coming from the higher raindrops and the red light on the lower raindrops.

The double rainbow is a unique sight with two spectacular natural scenes for the price of one. It is relatively unusual, especially when the sun is low in the skies, such as in the early morning or late afternoon.

The second rainbow is more pastel and fainter in tone compared to the primary rainbow due to the light that escapes from two reflections.

The second rainbow is usually dispersed over a wider region of the sky. It is similarly twice as wide compared to the primary bow.

The critical feature of the double rainbow is the reversed color sequence in the second rainbow, so instead of the usual ROYGBIV or red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and indigo, the colors appear in the inverse order or VIBGYOR.

The dark band between the two sides is called Alexander's band after Alexander of Aphrodisias, who first described it in 200AD.

The Alexander band forms because of the deviation angles between the primary and secondary bows. None of the sunlight is scattered by the raindrops toward the human's eye, giving the band of the dark sky.

How Rare Is Double Rainbow

One of the rarest forms of rainbows is multiple or double rainbows. They occur when several rainbows form in the same place simultaneously.

It takes at least one primary rainbow to generate the sight and several other secondary rainbows. There is a noticeable space between each rainbow, according to American Paper Optics.

Majestic Skies Over London

Last Thursday, the skies over London were cleared and a special cloud formation appeared. The cloud figure resembled the late Queen's portraits riding on of her horses wearing her royal uniform.

The photo was taken on Sunday in Wembley, London. A day earlier, a rainbow over Buckingham Palace sprouted after the heavy rains, reflecting the mood of the United Kingdom over the past weeks, and adding to the earlier skies occurrences is the double rainbow.

Over four billion viewers, or as many as half of the world's population, could be tuning in tomorrow for the late monarch's funeral.

The most watched event on British television is the funeral service for the late Princess Diana of Wales, which gained over 32 million viewers on Sept. 6, 1997.

Check out more news and information on Rainbow in Science Times.