From A Spider Surprise To Boris Bashing: How Twitter Reacted To Coverage Of The Queen’s Funeral

It was a solemn day for the nation. But on social media, people were taking a more sideways look at the Queen’s state funeral.

Here’s just some of the quirkier, unintended highlights of the day seen through Twitter’s prism.

Archbishop of Canterbury v Boris Johnson?

During his sermon at the funeral, the Archbishop of Canterbury told the congregation the outpouring of emotion for the Queen “arises from her abundant life and loving service, now gone from us”.

Justin Welby told mourners: “People of loving service are rare in any walk of life. Leaders of loving service are still rarer.

“But in all cases those who serve will be loved and remembered when those who cling to power and privileges are forgotten.”

Many thought he was pointedly referring to the recently departed prime minister.

Who is the tall man?

An “impossibly tall” mourner walking in the Queen’s procession caught many people’s attention.

Towering above soldiers and sailors, Matthew Magee, who stands at 7 feet 2 inches tall, was appointed by the Queen as her assistant private secretary in 2018.

Spider surprise

Several people on social media noted the appearance of a spider on the Queen’s coffin as the ceremony took place.

The creature was seen crawling across a piece of card placed on the coffin alongside the crown and a floral display.

Mike Tindall’s medals

The Queen’s granddaughter Zara Tindall arrived with her husband Mike, the former England rugby union international.

But why was the non-military man wearing four medals?, Twitter asked.

“What did Mike Tindall do to get four military medals? Watching Dad’s Army?”, wrote one.

Another said: “What medals has Mike Tindall got? Has he got his World Cup Winners medal pinned to his jacket?”

Reports noted one represented his award of a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 2007 for his contribution to rugby, and another was the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal.

The silver medal, which bears the Queen’s face, was gifted to Tindall as a member of the royal family, and the last is the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal.

Where’s Prince Louis?

The future King, Prince George, and his sister, Princess Charlotte, remained impeccably behaved through a long and solemn day as they bid farewell to their beloved “Gan Gan”.

But the prince and princess’ four-year-old brother, Prince Louis, was not present, and many on Twitter began to speculate.

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Sandi Toksvig Pens Powerful Letter To Archbishop Of Canterbury After ‘Horrible’ Gay Sex Comments

Sandi Toksvig has penned an open letter to the Archbishop of Canterbury, after he “affirmed the validity” of a past declaration that gay sex is a sin.

The former Great British Bake Off host wrote that the Archbishop had “made a horrible mistake” by saying a past statement that marriage is “between a man and a woman”, and that same-sex relationships are “incompatible with scripture”, was “not in doubt”.

“I know we’ve never met and I should probably call you ‘your grace’ or ‘your eminence’ or something, but I wish we were friends,” Sandi began.

“If we were, I’d call you and say, ‘Justin, Justin, what are you doing?’. We’d have had a chat and maybe I could persuade you that you have made a horrible mistake. It’s what friends do for each other.”

The QI star continued: “You and your other religion pals got together at the Lambeth Conference and the main takeaway seems to be that gay sex is a sin. It was a sin in 1998 and you just wanted to make clear in 2022 that no one in your finely frocked gang has moved on from that.

“Seriously, with the state the world is in, that is what you wanted to focus on? You didn’t have other more pressing matters like, I don’t know, war or poverty?”

Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury
Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury

Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Sandi went on to share statistics which revealed that young LGBTQ+ people are more likely to contemplate suicide and self-harm.

“Do you know why?” she questioned. “For many it’s because they don’t feel loved and love, Justin, is supposed to be at the core of what you do.”

She added: “The lives of LGBTQ+ people are at stake here. I have had credible death threats over the years sometimes requiring the very kind assistance of the police hate crime squad. Each and every one of those threats has come from an evangelical Christian.

“Inevitably, they have wanted to kill me on God’s behalf because although he may be omnipotent apparently he’s also very busy. Why just raising this matter is probably a bad idea for my health. I’ll cope, but what about my brothers and sisters who won’t?”

Sandi ended the letter by stating: “Call me, Justin. Let’s have coffee. Let me talk you round. You never know, I might even forgive you.”

The Danish comedian, presenter and activist came out as gay in 1994. She entered a civil partnership with her wife Debbie Toksvig in 2007.

Sandi and Debbie later renewed their vows on the day same-sex marriage was made legal in England in 2014.

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