Video from 2009 shared as the Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral

The video does not show the Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral. The video dates back to 2009.

As social media users continue to mourn the demise of Queen Elizabeth II, a video showing a school choir reciting shlokas at Buckingham Palace is widely circulating on social media with the claim that the video shows the funeral of the Queen where the choir can be seen singing Indian shlokas.

The caption of the post states, “This is superb. Especially when we were slaves to the queen for 98 years and now, she is being bid farewell with our OM. Sanskrit Mantras!So proud of सनातनधर्म”

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Fact Check- 

We observed the board of the’Queen’s Baton 2010 relay’ in the background of the choir. Other than that, we also noticed the watermark of one “www.wildfilmsindia.com” written on the video. We ran a keyword search on Youtube whose results led us to the official channel of Wild Films India. The caption of the video states, “Students of St James School Choir recite shlokas at Buckingham Palace.” 

The description states, “The St James School Choir recites a spiritual poem called the shlokas at Buckingham Palace during the CWG Queen Baton 2010.”

We found that ABC News Australia posted the video on 30 October 2009 stating that Indian President Pratibha Patil and Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II had launched the baton relay for the 2010 Commonwealth Games.

The Queen’s Baton Relay is a relay around the world held prior to the beginning of the Commonwealth Games. The Baton carries a message from the Head of the Commonwealth. The Relay traditionally begins at Buckingham Palace in London as a part of the city’s Commonwealth Day festivities. 

According to TOI report, the countdown to the 2010 Commonwealth Games began with the launch of the Queen’s baton relay, where India’s former President Pratibha Patil became the first Head of a State to attend this ceremony. A bunch of British students had joined the celebrations chanting the Sanskrit verses from ancient Rig Veda.

The viral video was also shared by XIX Commonwealth Games 2010 Delhi’s Facebook page on 25 November 2009. The caption of the video states, The Queens Baton Relay 2010 Delhi was launched on 29 October 2009 at Buckingham Palace, London, when the baton containing Her Majesty’s message was entrusted to Abhinav Bindra, the first of many thousands of Batonbearers. Uniting the Commonwealth, the Queens Baton Relay 2010 Delhi is a rousing celebration that showcases India to the world. The relaying of the baton to all 71 nations of the Commonwealth provides a unique opportunity for the entire Commonwealth to share in the excitement of the Games.”

Conclusion- 

Fact Crescendo found the claim made along with the video to be False. The video shows the 2010 CWG Baton Relay in October 2009. The video does not show Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral.