With what seemed like the entire world watching Monday's funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, the pallbearers have received special praise from TikTok users, but not for the reasons you might think.
Billions of people around the world tuned in to watch the historic event as the United Kingdom said goodbye to its longest-reigning monarch after her 70 years on the throne. Her coffin was transported from Westminster Hall to Westminster Abbey before being taken to her final resting place at Windsor Castle. During that time, a small group of young men were tasked with moving the coffin.
They received enormous praise from the public for their service, but on TikTok they also gained some admirers who said the guards are "hot."
Eight young men were seen carrying the royal coffin. They were all soldiers from the Queen's Company, 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards. During her life, Queen Elizabeth was the company commander. The men were deployed in Iraq on September 8, when the queen died, but flew back shortly afterward.
Ahead of the event, Major Adrian Weale, a former British Army soldier, told the PA news agency, "It's their role to protect her body, both in life and in death, remaining the Queen's Company until King Charles decides otherwise."
The men received widespread commendations from those who watched the funeral. Piers Morgan said the pallbearers should be "proud," adding they did an "incredible job under hugely stressful conditions." His fellow British broadcaster Lorraine Kelly said, "These lads were faultless—such a difficult duty carried out impeccably."
@catymoon0 my respects though xxx
♬ Beat Goes On Campbell edit - Campbell
Meanwhile, for some TikTok users it was the men's looks that drew comment, with some users saying how much they wanted to date them.
TikTok user @catymoon0 played a game of "(Respectful) hot or not," which went viral after the funeral. At the end of rating everyone, the user focused on one of the soldiers and wrote, "I want HIM."
"And on today's episode of who we can fall in love with," wrote @alicialittlepage, who got hundreds of thousands of views. In a minute-long video, after seeing the Grenadier Guards, the TikTok user showed some research on finding out who the soldiers were, before logging on to a dating app near their barracks.
@alicialittlepage queen liz knew what she was doing picking them lads, what a babe
♬ B.O.T.A. (Baddest Of Them All) - Eliza Rose & Interplanetary Criminal
Other TikTok users, such as @mimithemortician and @_haz_x, expressed their admiration for the men, with the latter writing above her video: "Okay but can we talk about the Queens Pallbearers."
The social media site was filled with dozens of videos made in their honor. "Respect to these lads," "Give these lads a medal" and "You did the country her majesty proud" being were some of the comments.
The Derbyshire Live news outlet identified two of the men as Dean Jones of Long Eaton and Luke Simpson of Selston.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Jamie Burton is a Newsweek Senior TV and Film Reporter (Interviews) based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on ... Read more
