Aretha Franklin Honored During Changing of the Guard Ceremony at Buckingham Palace

On Friday, music legend Aretha Franklin was laid to rest in Detroit and almost 4,000 miles away, her global impact was on full display at the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace in London.

During Friday's Changing of the Guard, the Band of the Welsh Guards performed Franklin's hit song, "Respect." Led by conductor Major David Barringer MBE, musicians playing drums, saxophones, tubas and other instruments honored the icon with its rendition of the famous song.

Respect for others underpins all we do in the @BritishArmy so it was no surprise that the @WelshGuardsBand paid tribute to musical icon and inspiration #ArethaFranklin at Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace today. @RoyalFamily #ArethaFranklinFuneral #RESPECT pic.twitter.com/ho7fvjEuMh

— The Army in London (@ArmyInLondon) August 31, 2018

"Respect for others underpins all we do in the [British Army] so it was no surprise that the [Band of the Welsh Guards] paid tribute to musical icon and inspiration [Aretha Franklin] at Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace today," the Army in London tweeted.

One Twitter user called the performance "truly a queen's farewell" and another labeled the serenade "pretty major."

"Respect to the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace for showing love to our Queen of Soul!" the Twitter user wrote.

In 1980, Franklin, the Queen of Soul, gave a royal performance for another queen, Queen Elizabeth, at Royal Albert Hall in London.

changing of the guard honors aretha franklin buckingham palace
Aretha Franklin performs onstage during the "Clive Davis: The Soundtrack of Our Lives" concert during the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival at Radio City Music Hall on April 19, 2017 in New York City. On Friday,... Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Tribeca Film Festival

Franklin passed away at the age of 76 on August 16 after a battle with pancreatic cancer, which she'd denied having in the past. Over the span of her decades-long career, she was nominated for a Grammy 44 times and won 18 of the awards, including Best Rhythm and Blues Recording for the song "Respect" in 1967. Her last Grammy Win was in 2007 in the category of Best Gospel Performance for "Never Gonna Break My Faith."

Franklin arrived at the Greater Grace Temple in a gold casket and the streets of Detroit were lined with pink Cadillacs, in reference to a line she sang in her song "Free of Love," which said, "We're going riding on the freeway of love in a pink Cadillac."

While attendance at the service was limited to invited guests, the general public was invited to watch the ceremony online and on television. Stevie Wonder, Jennifer Hudson, Faith Hill, Chaka Khan and Fantasia were all expected to perform and over eight people were slated to speak, including former President Bill Clinton and Reverend Jesse Jackson.

The Band of the Welsh Guards was created in 1915 and earned a remarkable reputation for its high standards after its first performance at the London Opera House in 1916. Members of the band come from all over the United Kingdom but are based permanently in London.

The Band of the Welsh Guards is part of the United Kingdom's Corps of Army Music, which delivers musical support to the Army and the defense community. Over 20 individual bands make up the entire musical corps and include wind bands, brass bands, a string orchestra, marching bands, contemporary bands and specialist bands. The Changing of the Guard begins at 10:45 a.m. GMT on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays and lasts about 45 minutes, including a musical performance.

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