Viewers pay tribute as Eddie Butler's voice features during Queen's funeral
Rugby NewsTuesday, 20 September 2022 at 09:30
Former Wales captain and legendary commentator Eddie Butler was part of The Queen's funeral coverage via a pre-recorded message before his own tragic death in Peru last week
Eddie could be heard to say during the BBC's coverage: "The Abbey and the Queen. A place and a monarch with a lifelong bond. A special connection born of the Abbey being a royal peculiar. That is, under the directed jurisdiction of the sovereign.
"But more of affection than jurisdiction. From her earliest days the Queen was among family here. It was here that she married Prince Phillip. The royal wedding a splash of colour to brighten up the grey days of post-war Britain.
"More royal weddings followed, for two of her children: Princess Anne and Prince Andrew. And for her grandson William, heir to the throne, just as she had been until her father's death. Her coronation took place, of course, in her Abbey.
"The Abbey, soaring dramatic and yet intimate. A meeting place, a place to celebrate, give thanks, remember, to be sad. Westminster Abbey so often the stage for so much royal drama. A fitting place to say goodbye to our longest-reigning monarch."
After rising to prominence with club side Pontypool, Butler played 16 times for Wales between 1980 and 1984, captaining the side on six occasions and scoring two tries.
The number eight was called up to the British and Irish Lions squad that toured New Zealand in 1983.
After retirement he became a respected rugby broadcaster.
Butler died in his sleep on a charity trek in Peru.
Social reaction:
Which rugby teams do the King, Prince Harry, and Prince William support?
The high-profile members of UK royalty have been linked with many rugby teams over the years, but which ones are they affiliated with?
King Charles III, Prince William and Prince Harry have all shown allegiance to various teams over the years.
RUCK takes you through each team the royal family members are thought to support.
#1. Mike Tindall (not strictly a royal, but married to one)
At that 2003 World Cup, won by England following Jonny Wilkinson's unforgettable drop-goal, Harry introduced his cousin Zara Phillips to her future husband in a Sydney bar.
Over the course of his career, the outside centre was one of the great England players of modern times, winning 75 caps between 2000 and 2011.
Allegiance: England (Obviously)
#2. King Charles III
Former schoolboy rugby player David Borthwick revealed the moment he took on King Charles III in a fierce game which left the future king with a broken nose.
He claims the future king bore the brunt of a scrum but his nose survived in a game between Bruce House Boys and Gordonstoun School in 1964.
His headmaster told the Press at the time it had been an unfortunate accident, but it now seems that wasn't the case.
Borthwick told The Times: 'There was this great big mound of boys and we all jumped in. His head popped up from the bottom and there were a few clenched fists and things.
'I’m not saying I went for him — we all went for him, we all just seemed to pick the same moment. I went for his left earhole, I gave it a good crunch.'
Allegiance: Wales
#3. Princess Anne
The Princess has been patron of the Scottish Rugby Union since 1986, and is regularly in attendance at Murrayfield.
Allegiance: Scotland
#4. Prince William
Played for Eton College in the same team as Oscar-winning actor Eddie Redmayne before becoming patron and passionate supporter of the Wales national team.
Allegiance: Wales
#5. Prince Harry
The Duke of Sussex is a passionate rugby fan, who celebrated with the England team after their 2003 World cup triumph.
He had been RFU patron since 2016 and RFL patron since 2017, taking over both roles from his grandmother until 2021.
Allegiance: England
#6&7. Princes George and Louis
Speaking about her children’s enthusiasm for rugby, Princess Kate said: “They’re all enjoying it, Louis is kamikaze, we’re worrying about when he gets older, he’ll be in the middle of everything.”
Allegiance: England (So far)
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- Jordie Barrett over Damian de Allende is far from being correct. The hype around Dupont is also overreaching, he's probably 4th in the world and has been since the 2023 WC. He also avoids certain matchups which is strange. The rest of the list is pretty good apart from minor subjective biases.JasonMarlow16-09-2026
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