Video from 2007 shared a man interrupting Queen Elizabeth’s funeral

False International

The video is not from Queen Elizabeth’s funeral ceremony. The video dates back to 2007.

A video shot at the funeral ceremony of Queen Elizabeth II at Westminster Abbey is widely circulating on social media. Video shows a man surrounded by security guards yelling at the service. The man can be heard shouting “disgrace” before being escorted out by the security guard. A person later can be heard saying that the man demanded England to formally apologize for their participation in the transatlantic slave trade.

Users claim that the man in the video had interrupted the Queen’s funeral and demanded the British government to apologize for their participation in the slave trade.

The caption of the post mentioned “LATE QUEEN ELIZABETH II HAD HER FUNERAL INTERRUPTED : A yet to be identified African had interrupted the funeral of the late Queen as he stood up before the World’s Presidents and demanded that the British government should apologize to Africans for their role in Slave trade since the late queen could not do that before her death . Before he was led out by Security agents, he took a swipe at the British PM calling him a ‘disgrace’.”

Facebook Post | Archive Link 

Fact Check-

We started our investigation by running a relevant keyword and reverse image search on Google. The results led us to a report by the Express. The caption of the video states, “Toyin Agbetu protests at Westminster Abbey in 2007.” According to the report, the man in the video was Toyin Agebetu. The incident took place during a ceremony that marked the 200th anniversary of the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act of 1807. Mr .Agebetu disrupted the ceremony to demand an apology from the Queen and the British Government for their role in the slave trade.

A Facebook Page named “Ligali” uploaded the longer version of the video on Facebook. The caption of the video states, “On 27 March 2007 a Pan African named Toyin Agbetu challenged the British Government, Monarchy and Church as they gathered to hold a religious celebration for the Bicentenary of the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act in Westminster Abbey, England.” The video is a documentary published in 2007 named “The Walk”.

Who is Toyin Agbetu?

Toyin Agbetu is a Nigerian and founder of the African rights campaign organisation named Ligali. It was in the news for disrupting the slavery abolition anniversary ceremonies at Westminster Abbey. He had risen to protest the official version of the abolition story on an occasion at which the Queen and royal family, the Prime Minister and many distinguished others were present. 

We could not find any relevant news report that stated that the Queen’s funeral was interrupted.

Conclusion-

Fact Crescendo found the claim made along with the video to be False. The video does not show a man disrupting Queen Elizabeth’s funeral ceremony. Originally the video is from 2007 showing a British-Nigerian activist demanding an apology during a ceremony celebrating 200 years of the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act of 1807.

Avatar

Title:Video from 2007 shared a man interrupting Queen Elizabeth’s funeral

Fact Check By: Drabanti Ghosh 

Result: False