Well done!
The Band of the Welsh Guards, a musical unit among the troops that guard the home of the queen of England, made a brilliant song selection Friday during the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace.
On the same day as Aretha Franklin’s funeral, passers-by were treated to a rendition of the Queen of Soul’s iconic hit “Respect.”
The official Twitter account for the British Army in London posted a video of the moving tribute.
A listener named Chris Bott also shared a video that quickly went viral.
Many online loved the homage.
In 1980, Franklin performed for Queen Elizabeth II at Royal Albert Hall in London. She sang for the monarch again in 2001 at Elizabeth’s 50th Jubilee, per the Associated Press. The late diva also performed the hymn “I’ll Fly Away” on the 1997 compilation album Diana Princess of Wales Tribute, which raised funds for the Princess Diana Memorial Fund.
Actor Glynn Turman, who was married to Franklin from 1978 to 1984, recently told the show “Good Morning Britain” that one of his favorite memories of her occurred in England. During a visit, the late Sammy Davis Jr. introduced Franklin to the late Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother in a way that Turman said was “spectacular and I never forgot it.”
Turman described being surrounded by the Queen Mother, Princess Diana and Prince Charles when all of a sudden Davis turned to one royal and stated: “‘Queen Mother, you here in Britain, you have the queen, you have the prince, but we also have royalty in America. We have the Duke of Ellington, the Count of Basie, and ladies and gentlemen, I bring you the Queen of Soul.’ And that’s how she was introduced here.”
Though it sounds like a breach in royal etiquette, if Friday’s memorial says anything, the family certainly did not hold that against her.