Australian journalist addresses Queen funeral mix-up after mistaking Liz Truss for ‘minor royal’-Mel Evans-Entertainment – Metro

Australian journalist Peter Overton has addressed the right royal faux pas that saw him unable to recognise Prime Minister Liz Truss at the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II.

The late monarch was laid to rest on Monday, following her death aged 96 on September 8 at Balmoral, with world leaders attending to pay their respects.

Truss was one of them and was seen exiting her car as part of the motorcade delivering mourners to Westminster Abbey ahead of the service.

Seemingly watching the arrivals via a live-feed that didn’t offer the best vantage point, Channel Nine reporters Peter Overton and Tracy Grimshaw struggled to identify the PM, but in an effort to explain the moment on Tuesday morning, Overton insisted he does know what the PM looks like. Phew.

During the broadcast, Overton said: ‘So, this is a significant motorcade, we are being told now. Come with us as we try and identify who is getting out of the car.

‘This is under police escort of course. I would suggest this might be royalty, Tracy. Hard to identify. Maybe minor royals, members of the … I can’t identify them at this point…’

Peter Overton and Tracy Grimshaw were covering the Queen’s funeral on Monday (Picture: Nine)

Liz Truss attended the funeral alongside husband Hugh O’Leary – not minor royals (Picture: PA)

Grimshaw added ‘they could well be local dignitaries, it’s hard to see, we’re looking at the backs of their heads, mostly’, before Overton added: ‘I think we are getting towards the pointy end, as they say…’

His earpiece was probably working overtime by this stage as he said: ‘I’m just told that’s Liz Truss, the new Prime Minister…’

Addressing the moment, which elicited quite the response on social media from tickled punters, Overton explained the video feed they were working from during the funeral glitched in a way that made it difficult to identify the mourners.

Hey, some journalists were so exhausted from the ongoing coverage they fell asleep on the job, so we can only imagine the pressure Overton was under during his time on camera.

He wrote on Twitter: ‘We were relying on a video feed for live stream of arrivals. At times the video would freeze so we’d turn around to try to catch a glimpse.

‘I do know what British PM, Liz Truss looks like.The back of her hat,not so much!’

The monumental event, which is expected to become the most watched global broadcast in history with an approximate 4.1billion people tuning in, took place yesterday following the Queen’s death after a reign of more than 70 years.

King Charles III and members of the Royal family follow behind the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II following her funeral on Monday (Picture: AP)

Queen Elizabeth was laid to rest in Windsor in a private service (Picture: Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

The Queen was buried next to her beloved husband Prince Philip after a committal service and private burial.

The BBC led coverage since 6am, and continued late into the evening, with Huw Edwards helming the broadcast of the historical event alongside Kirsty Young, Fergal Keane, David Dimbleby, and Sophie Raworth.

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