Who was that incredibly tall man in the Queen's funeral procession?
With thousands turning out to see Queen Elizabeth II one last time as she was farewelled in a public memorial, one mourner stood out from the procession and sent the internet into a tizzy.
The figure in question was Matthew Magee, one of the Queen’s former private secretaries.
Standing at an impressive 7ft 2in, he would have towered over the late five-foot Queen.
According to The Mirror UK, Magee is often confused with one of the monarch’s most dedicated members of staff, Paul “Tall Paul” Whybrew.
Tall Paul, who is slightly shorter than Magee at 6ft 4in, was one of only three of the Queen’s male domestic staff who were invited to join the cortege from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall last week.
He earned his nickname in comparison to another of Her Majesty’s footmen, Paul Burrell, who was known as Small Paul.
Despite tall being in his name, Tall Paul was overshadowed by Magee, having sparked curiosity among many on social media.
“Who is this insanely tall man? Is this the royal Slenderman?” one person shared on Twitter.
“Anyone know who the exceedingly tall man is?” another asked.
A third wrote, “I don’t know who he is, but he is a very tall man”.
Is this tall man the Royal Giant? #tallman #Queen #funeral pic.twitter.com/UKdvFAf6za
— Stephen Griffin (@Stephen_Griffin) September 19, 2022
Some asked whether he was related to English TV presenter Richard Osman, who stands at 6ft 7in, prompting Osman to trend on Twitter.
“Curious as to who the tall man is - walking in the Queen’s Funeral Procession. Wearing Morning (sic) Dress and towering above everyone else. Must be knocking on 7ft tall… [Richard Osman] - though it was you!!!” one person wrote.
“Wondered why Richard Osman was trending and it turns out it’s because there was a tall man wearing glasses at the Queen’s funeral,” another shared.
With so many wondering about the mystery tall man’s identity, others were quick to reveal who he was - and even threw in a joke or two.
“Matthew Magee. Private Secretary to the Queen. He’s 7ft 2inch tall. She always looked up to him,” one user joked.
Queens private secretary oversees everything #queensfuneral #tallman pic.twitter.com/bJPE3A7aO9
— Jade Thomas (@Jadeesther23) September 19, 2022
“The Queen’s Private Secretary Matthew Magee (the very tall man with glasses in front of the hearse) is as tall as the soldiers with the bear skin hats on,” another revealed.
Magee has previously worked as the private secretary to Prince Edward, though The Sun reported that he was chosen to work for the Queen in 2018 because of his “brilliant brain”.
“He is a smashing guy with a great sense of humour and the Queen will love working with him on a daily basis,” a royal insider told the outlet at the time.
Image: Twitter