Google Maps quietly retires much-loved feature after Queen’s death

A sweet and quirky feature of Google Maps that once paid respect to Queen Elizabeth II has been removed following her death.

Until recently, accessing Street View on the mapping service around Buckingham Palace would bring up a figure representing the illustrious neighbourhood the user was navigating.

Instead of the traditional yellow “Pegman” that represents a user’s location, a “Queen” version wearing a royal dress and crown was activated, which Google respectfully named “PegMa’am”.

PegMa’am would also make an appearance around Windsor Castle and Balmoral Castle in Scotland.

However, Reddit users first noticed that PegMa’am had quietly been retired following the death of the monarch on 8 September 2022.

The beloved feature of Google maps was first introduced in 2015 to mark the Queen becoming the longest-serving monarch in British history.

Whether the tech company is working on a PegKing since the ascension of King Charles III to the throne remains to be seen.

Other iterations of Pegman can be found in different locations around the world.

Visitors to Wimbledon, the USTA stadium and the French Open will find a tennis player, while skiing fans will spot a downhill skier at Whistler Blackcomb Mountain.

He becomes an astronaut at the NASA Shuttle Landing Facility in Florida, a Lego figure at California’s Legoland, a Loch Ness monster around Loch Ness, a penguin in Antarctica, and a tiny UFO around Area 51 in the Nevada Desert.

According to Google, there are some undiscovered Pegmans out there, too, so start sleuthing.

Many other iconic goods, symbols and titles are just some of the things that will also need to change following the death of Queen Elizabeth II.

Coins, stamps and medals will no longer bear the Queen’s distinctive side profile, but that of her son and heir King Charles III.

A new flag and coat of arms will be designed for the new monarch, while the national anthem has already been tweaked to reflect the ascension of the King.

And senior barristers – known as Queen’s Counsel (QC) for 70 years – will have to adapt to the new moniker of King’s Counsel (KC).