(Ottawa) Prime Minister Justin Trudeau left royal pomp and decorum aside for a few moments on Saturday evening in London to sing Bohemian Rhapsody around the piano of Gregory Charles.
Posted at 5:16 p.m.
Mr. Trudeau had since Friday led the Canadian delegation to London which was to attend Monday morning the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, who died on September 8.
The Prime Minister’s Office said that after dinner on Saturday evening, Trudeau and other members of the Canadian delegation met in the hotel lobby to sing along to Gregory Charles.
In a statement, the Prime Minister’s Office says that when Gregory Charles started playing in the lobby of the London hotel, other people, including Mr Trudeau, joined him around the piano.
In a 14-second video posted on Twitter, which has garnered nearly a million views, Mr. Trudeau, in a T-shirt, is seen singing the famous song by British rock group Queen, Bohemian Rhapsody.
The Prime Minister’s Office recalls that Mr. Trudeau has “participated in various activities to pay tribute” to the sovereign over the past 10 days, and that the entire Canadian delegation participated in the state funeral on Monday in London.
The Canadian delegation also included former Governors General Michaëlle Jean and David Johnston, as well as former Prime Ministers Kim Campbell, Jean Chrétien, Paul Martin and Stephen Harper. It is not known which members of this delegation took part in the impromptu choir on Saturday evening.
In an interview on Radio-Canada radio on Monday morning, Gregory Charles explained that in the midst of an extremely busy schedule, the Canadian delegation had “a little improvised moment of pleasure on Saturday evening”.
When he saw the piano in the hotel lobby, “what could have been five minutes may have become a little two hours of Canadians singing together,” Gregory Charles told the show Monday. by Patrick Masbourian.
“My father would have been very proud of that, because a funeral is not just austerity, it’s not just inner reflection: it’s also the celebration of a life, and the celebration of our lives. »
The musician is a member of the Order of Canada, an honorary distinction awarded by the Governor General, the Queen’s representative in Canada.