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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
National
Martin Belam

Spider cameo and Tindall’s medals – social media reacts to quirky side of funeral coverage

Mike Tindall Queen Elizabeth II Prince Louis John Major Boris Johnson Liz Truss National Rail
Zara and Mike Tindall enter Westminster Abbey for the Queen’s funeral.
Zara and Mike Tindall enter Westminster Abbey. Photograph: James Veysey/REX/Shutterstock

Not all of the nation was gripped to the television in reverential silence during the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, as the conversations about the event on social media inevitably turned to observations about some of the quirkier elements.

Even before the event began some suggested it might be time for the royal family to give a little back to the world of football, after all the tributes paid at sporting events in the previous 10 days.

Much has been made that over her long reign the Queen received 15 prime ministers, four of them in the past six years alone thanks to Conservative party leadership changes. Some suggested the sight of the nation’s former PMs didn’t indicate there had been an improvement over time.

Former prime ministers (left to right, from front) John Major and his wife, Norma Major; Tony Blair and his wife, Cherie Blair; Gordon Brown and his wife, Sarah Brown; David Cameron and his wife, Samantha Cameron; and Theresa May and Boris Johnson visible in the rear.
Former prime ministers (left to right, from front) John Major and his wife, Norma Major; Tony Blair and his wife, Cherie Blair; Gordon Brown and his wife, Sarah Brown; David Cameron and his wife, Samantha Cameron; and Theresa May and Boris Johnson visible in the rear. Photograph: Dominic Lipinski/PA

There were some expressions of concern about Prince George and Princess Charlotte having roles in such a public ceremony at a young age, and comparisons with the appearance of Prince William and Prince Harry at their own mother’s funeral in 1997. However, there was a theory as to why Prince Louis was occupied elsewhere on the day his great-grandmother was buried.

Louis had, after all, provided one of the defining images of the Queen’s platinum jubilee earlier in the year.

Prince Louis enjoying the Royal Air Force flypast alongside the Queen at the platinum jubilee.
Prince Louis enjoying the Royal Air Force flypast alongside the Queen at the platinum jubilee. Photograph: Hannah McKay/Reuters

During the service in Westminster Abbey itself, you wouldn’t have wished “dropping your notes right next to the Queen’s coffin in front of a television audience projected to be billions” on your worst enemy.

The arachnid cameo did not go unnoticed.

In fact, the spider benefited from better television coverage than some of the people participating in the service.

And at least the spider was actually there.

People were disappointed that the attenders weren’t getting onboard with the spirit of International Talk Like a Pirate Day, which has fallen on 19 September every year since it was founded in 1995.

The television captions weren’t always kind to the prime minister, Liz Truss, either.

The appearance of Liz Truss also flummoxed Channel Nine’s Peter Overton and Tracy Grimshaw in Australia, who suggested on live television that she might be “a minor royal” after failing to identify her.

One man who caught the eye of social media users was Matthew Magee. Appointed by the Queen as her assistant private secretary in 2018, at 7ft 2in (2.18m) Magee notably towered over those around him during the procession.

After days of odd corporate tweets – Playmobil Queen anybody? – National Rail made a late bid for glory with the suggestion everyone go down the pub after the funeral rather than actually get on their trains.

There was the eternal mystery surrounding some of the more obscure ceremonial aspects of the day.

Chess jokes inevitably got another airing.

And the question came up of why former rugby player and non-military man Mike Tindall, who is married to the daughter of Princess Anne, now has medals.

The actual answer is that Tindall was wearing his MBE awarded for his contributions to rugby, and also medals for the late Queen’s diamond and platinum jubilees.

Would the Queen have appreciated people making jokes during her funeral? Well, the royal family often spoke about her sense of humour. At least she spared us this …

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