Watch Lin-Manuel Miranda Riff On Hamilton’s King George Song for Actual British Royalty

Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II is celebrating her Platinum Jubilee this weekend marking her historic 70-year reign and among the festivities was a performance of selections from iconic musicals at the Platinum Party held outside of Buckingham Palace on Sunday. Among the musicals was Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton and Miranda himself also made an appearance, opening the performance alongside Andrew Lloyd Webber with a riff off Hamilton‘s King George song, “What Comes Next?”.

In the performance, Lloyd Webber asks Miranda if he has a Hamilton selection for the Queen which leads Miranda into this new take on the song, which in the musical is performed by King George III and pokes fun at the British monarchy. Miranda’s special version references Britain getting a bank holiday as well as Miranda noting that while he doesn’t quite understand it all being from New York, it “sounds rad”. What makes the performance so humorous — outside of Miranda’s joking about not understanding things — is that King George III is Queen Elizabeth’s great-great-great-great grandfather and Miranda was performing the song for actual royalty. You can check it out below.

Other selections in the musical montage included songs from Phantom of the Opera, The Lion King, Six, and Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Miranda’s Hamilton performance wasn’t the only collision of pop culture for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, either. As part of the festivities, the Queen herself appeared in a short film with Paddington Bear.  The short film sees Paddington meet with the Queen for tea as well as discuss their mutual love for marmalade sandwiches —the Queen even jokingly keeps one in her handbag. The film was kept a secret and thus was a delightful surprise when it was debuted this weekend.

“Her Majesty is well known for her sense of humour, so it should be no surprise that she decided to take part in tonight’s sketch,” Buckingham Palace said in a statement. “There was an interest in the filming and animation process and the opportunity to invite a famous bear to tea was just too much fun to miss. While The Queen may not be attending the concert in person, she was very keen that people understood how much it meant to her and that all those watching had a great time.”

“Filming Her Majesty’s tea party with Paddington Bear was such an emotional day for the entire crew,” Rosie Alison of Heyday Films added. “All of us were in awe of the Queen’s wit, warmth and radiant aura as she patiently engaged with a polite, clumsy but very well-intentioned bear. Of course, she shone, and put Paddington (and all of us) at ease. Capturing this lovely encounter was an absolute joy and unique privilege for the whole team. In Paddington’s words, ‘Happy Jubilee Ma’am. And thank you. For everything’.”

What did you think of Miranda’s Hamilton “performance” for British royalty? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!

Photo: Humphrey Nemar – WPA Pool/Getty Images