It was hyped as the biggest TV event in history and last night’s coverage of the Queen’s funeral didn’t disappoint. If, indeed, four-hour funerals are your thing!
By all reports, the ceremony went off without a hitch, arguably unsurprisingly given the Brits – and the Queen herself – had been practising for this day for the past decade or more.
Anyway, here’s B&T’s round-up of some of the more oddball moments from the momentous day that may have escaped your attention.
Woman says seeing Queen’s coffin was better than having her own children
After lying in state for five days and attracting queues of more than five kilometres long (a 20-hour wait!), naturally the last members of the public to view the Queen made ideal fodder for news crews hunting for a fresh angle.
Enter Sarah and her partner Mark who spoke to BBC One on their experience.
Sarah revealed that it even topped childbirth, telling reporter Sophie Raworth: “Amazing, I think it’s the best thing I’ve ever done in my life. Even having my children, Lily and Luca, I think this tops that. It was just amazing. I’m so pleased we did it.”
Gay sauna replaces usual porn for full funeral coverage
A 24-hour gay sauna in the heart of London has announced that its regulars need not miss a minute of the Queen’s funeral after revealing its in-house TVs would abandon its usual wall-to-wall of gay porn for full coverage of the service.
An image taken from Pleasuredrome Spa’s website
According to reports on queer site Pink News, Pleasuredrome Spa near London’s Waterloo station also said as a mark of respect to Her Majesty it wouldn’t be playing any music or films. Rather it would be replacing porn that is usually shown on the big screens with the procession.
TV viewers spot spider on Queen’s coffin
Eagle-eyed TV viewers have taken to social media after a spider was spotted atop the Queen’s coffin during last night’s broadcast.
Twitter users calling the invading arachnid “the most famous spider in the world right now.”
The most famous spider in the world right now. #queensfuneral #QueenElizabethIIMemorial pic.twitter.com/G2sG9VDLjL
— Laura (@deplaurablenull) September 19, 2022
Others quipped: “Piers Morgan is now coming up with a story of how to blame Meghan for sabotaging the coffin with spiders.”
While another added: “Favourite moment? The spider crawling across the card atop the coffin.”
Very creepy voice interrupts coverage
UK broadcaster ITV was bringing viewers live footage of the Queen’s hearse leaving London, as a male commentator described what was happening, when a very creepy, unknown voice interrupted the feed declaring, “The death is irreversible … the fact that she’s trapped …”
The male commentator continued to narrate the Queen’s journey, with ITV never acknowledging or explaining who exactly the female voice belonged to. Check it out below:
I’m obsessed with this what the hell happened @itvnews pic.twitter.com/uu2ONYoktW
— an ancient man (@goulcher) September 19, 2022
Choirboy hailed as “most valuable player” for “superstar” singing during Queen’s funeral
As anyone who watched last night’s funeral will attest, the signing by the Choir of Westminster Abbey was haunting as it was beautiful.
Made up of 30 choirboys aged between eight and 13 years old, the group also included 12 adult singers.
However, one auburn-haired lad who apparently goes by the name of Barnaby caught the imagination of the British public for his passionate singing during the funeral.
The ginger choir boy is the MVP.#queensfuneral pic.twitter.com/nISewDIH5s
— Matt Clark (@Disappearer) September 19, 2022
Viewers took to social media to praise the lad’s exaggerated performance.
“Obsessed with the red-headed choir boy giving the performance of his life at the Queen’s funeral,” said one fan.
Another added: “The one choirboy at the end is really putting his heart and soul into his performance. 10/10 for effort.”
While another penned: “I know it’s all about the queen but the star of this funeral so far has been the overly dramatic redheaded choirboy who apparently has never brushed his hair. He needs a Twitter account.”
Canadian PM Justin Trudeau sings Bohemian Rhapsody during visit to London for Queen’s funeral
Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau has been filmed singing Bohemian Rhapsody in a hotel lobby on Saturday night, belting out the Queen anthem while in London to attend the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II.
Trudeau, who was staying at London’s Corinthia Hotel, decided to belt out a rendition of the Queen classic while in the hotel’s piano bar.
UK TV network praised for showing The Emoji Movie instead of Queen’s funeral
British broadcaster Channel 5 has won praise for parents for abandoning any coverage of the Queen’s funeral and instead running the kids’ flick The Emoji Movie.
All cinemas in the UK were closed on Monday out of a mark of respect, except for those who chose to air the ceremony.
However, parents soon leapt to the defence of Channel 5 programmers for doing something kid-friendly.
One parent tweeted: “To be fair, it’s good to see them doing something like this. Most families will have 2 TVs so adults can watch it and children watch the film. It’s a shame BBC aren’t doing something similar with BBC3.”
Another added: “Channel 5 deserve a lot of respect for this. Airing an entire day’s worth of kid and family-friendly content to give us a break from wall-to-wall bleakness is a great move.”
“Mean and miserable!” Fury as busking temporarily banned on London’s Tube as mark of respect
Transport for London has taken action on London’s tube network and has paused all busking during the UK’s 10-day period of mourning. A spokesperson for TfL said: “During the period of national mourning, we have taken the decision to pause the busking scheme across our network, and we will reopen the scheme following this.”
Apparently TfL has declared that no busking will be allowed on the Underground until after the Queen’s funeral. What a miserable, mean cast of mind this reveals.
— Philip Pullman (@PhilipPullman) September 11, 2022
However, the decision has not gone down well at all from a number of musicians and performers. Author Philip Pullman leading the uproar: “What a miserable, mean cast of mind this reveals,” he said of the decision.