Queen's funeral brought back James Blunt's memories of guarding Queen Mother

23 September 2022

James Blunt says Queen Elizabeth's funeral stirred memories of guarding the Queen Mother lying in state.

James Blunt's memories of guarding Queen Mother came flooding back

The former reconnaissance officer in the Life Guards regiment of the British Army guarded the late royal's coffin and was part of the funeral procession on April 9, 2002.

And the 'You're Beautiful' hitmaker - who queued with his wife Sofia Wellesley, granddaughter of the 8th Duke of Wellington, to see the late British monarch lying in state before her funeral on Monday (19.09.22) - says it was even more emotional as he was reminded of his service to the queen's mother two decades ago.

The 48-year-old singer told the Daily Mail newspaper's Eden Confidential column: "I stood guard at the Queen Mother's funeral, so the Queen's funeral brought it all back, certainly.

"It was so emotional and very moving to see it all unfold."

The 'No Bravery' singer paid his respects to the late sovereign - who died on September 8 at the age of 96 following a 70-year-reign - at Westminster Hall, and waited in the queue for several hours with other members of the public on the Sunday night (18.09.22) before entry was closed.

In a tweet, he joked: "Offered to sing, and am now being ushered to the front."

During his time in the queue, James posed for a selfie with Scout volunteers, who later explained that he had "made the day" of the hard-working group as they carried out their final duty to the Queen.

A tweet read: "Hey @JamesBlunt you absolutely made some extremely hardworking @scouts who have been volunteering and #doingtheirduty to HM The Queen’s #lyinginstate day today."

The 'You're Beautiful' hitmaker - who before his career in music served as a reconnaissance officer in the Life Guards regiment of the British Army - was joined by his wife Sofia as he queued up to pay his respects.

James went on to attend the wedding of Queen Elizabeth's grandson Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, and Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank in 2018.