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Many viewers of Queen Elizabeth II's funeral, which took place Monday morning in London, were surprised to see a most unexpected guest walking in Her Majesty's processional—actor Sandra Oh.
Oh is a celebrated television star, having appeared on Grey's Anatomy for years and currently starring on the hit BBC drama Killing Eve. But what ties does she have to the Royal Family?
If you watched along and were left wondering the same thing, you certainly weren't alone. People all over the internet were shocked to see the television star seemingly performing some kind of official duty.
\u201cWHY IS SANDRA OH AT THE QUEEN\u2019S FUNERAL\u201d— hannah (@hannah) 1663581259
It turns out she was at the funeral in an official capacity—as part of the delegation to the funeral from Canada, which is a member of the British commonwealth. She was seen at the funeral wearing a pin bearing the colors of her home country.
Oh was born and raised near the Canadian capital of Ottawa and began her career there in the 1990s, going on to star in many films and television shows in the UK. Last year, she was inducted into the Order of Canada in honor of her "artistic career filled with memorable stage, television and film roles in Canada and abroad."
The Order of Canada was created by Queen Elizabeth II herself in 1967 to honor Canadians "whose service shapes our society, whose innovations ignite our imaginations and whose compassion unites our communities."
Prior to the Queen's funeral, Oh took to Instagram to post about how proud she was to be representing her country.
In her caption, she wrote:
"Proud to represent [Canada] w/my fellow Order of Canada & Valour recipients [musician Gregory Charles], [Olympic swimmer and gold medalist Mark Tewksbury] and [Canadian Coast Guard (retired) Leslie Palmer] at Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II funeral at Westminster Abbey today."
The Canadian delegation of which Oh was a part was led by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife Sophie Trudeau.
Oh's presence definitely caught fans' attention on Twitter.
\u201cbig day for sandra oh stans. it's not often we get big days\u201d— k. (@k.) 1663609992
\u201cWhen I grow up, I want to be Sandra Oh at The Queens funeral\u201d— Jas (@Jas) 1663608412
\u201cfun times for sandra oh titter\u201d— sib (@sib) 1663603734
\u201cThe way gays are only watching the Queens Funeral just to catch a glimpse of Sandra Oh walking for 0.2 seconds, shows how mentally ill we are\u201d— Day 3 without Rachel Weisz (@Day 3 without Rachel Weisz) 1663583410
\u201ceveryone stop what you\u2019re doing and look at sandra oh\u201d— retired (@retired) 1663609629
\u201ctrying to play it cool but heard Sandra Oh was coming\u201d— Emily Andras (@Emily Andras) 1663602882
\u201csandra oh has been preparing for this since 2001 \u201d— \u263d \u1d04\u1d00\u1d1b\u029f\u1d07\u1d07\u0274 (@\u263d \u1d04\u1d00\u1d1b\u029f\u1d07\u1d07\u0274) 1663591555
\u201cif you ever wonder how powerful sandra oh is, remember she got a bunch of sapphics who couldn\u2019t care less about the queen\u2019s death to watch her funeral because sandra is attending \ud83d\ude2d\u201d— bl\u00f3mkvist (@bl\u00f3mkvist) 1663596713
\u201cSANDRA OH CAMEO AT LIZZIES FUNERAL?\u201d— boob ross (@boob ross) 1663580220
\u201cthe queen is so ungrateful tbh, if sandra oh was at my funeral i would come back from the dead to thank her\u201d— ceo of clairekate || nelle/river (@ceo of clairekate || nelle/river) 1663583185
Oh was joined at the Queen's funeral by fellow Order of Canada recipients Olympic swimmer Mark Tewksbury and Québécois musician Gregory Charles and Canadian Order of Valour recipient Leslie Palmer, a veteran of Canada's Coast Guard.