Thaindian News

London, May 1 (ANI): The Westminster Abbey senior staff has warned the verger who became an internet sensation after cart wheeling down the red carpet following the royal wedding not to speak publicly about the incident.

Sources at the Abbey said the man, who is unlikely to face any formal disciplinary action, was feeling “fairly chastened” after his impromptu display of acrobatics was caught on film.

While the Abbey has refused to identify him, sources have disclosed he is Ben Sheward, who lives in South London.

Sheward waited until some 1,900 guests had left the Abbey before seizing his chance to cartwheel down the red carpet that William and Kate had just walked along for the first time as a married couple.

In the clip, the black-cassocked verger is shown strolling down the carpet.

ITV cameras caught his antics, which were beamed to millions of viewers around the world, ensuring the unsuspecting verger became an international celebrity.

The clip had already attracted 100,000 Internet hits on Saturday, and comments on various websites had come from as far a field as the United States and Australia.

“The verger, like all of us, was very pleased the service had gone according to plan, and was expressing his exuberance,” the Daily Mail quoted a Westminster Abbey spokesman as saying.

He emphasized that the incident occurred some time after the wedding had finished.

But Abbey officials were keen to prevent the story spreading further.

“We are just trying to keep a lid on this one. The verger has been spoken to a number of times and has been advised how to handle the situation,” said an official.

However, he denied that the man was in hiding, saying the Abbey had not resorted to such extreme measures. (ANI)