Canadian Olympic swimmer Mark Tewksbury speaks to Canadian media before attending the funeral of the late Queen Elizabeth II in London on Sunday, September 18, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Dennett Former Canadian swimming star Mark Tewkesbury was among thousands who paid their respects to Queen Elizabeth II at her funeral in London on Monday. A funeral that was “personal” to him. Tewksbury, a three-time Olympian and member of the Order of Canada, was among a list of dignitaries announced last week by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to attend the funeral. In what he described as a day of “mixed emotions”, Tewksbury said he felt more of a connection to the Queen as a person. “I’m a person who really respected the Queen for her duty and her service and giving and representing different charities and organizations, and I’ve tried to live my life the same way,” Tewksbury told The Canadian Press. “So I took it (as) more of a personal connection, as opposed to a connection to the institution of the monarchy.” The 54-year-old was part of a Canadian delegation that included actress Sandra Oh, artist Gregory Charles and Cross of Valor recipient Leslie Arthur Palmer. Contrary to Tewksbury’s expectations, the protocols were not as strict at the funeral. “I thought it would be extremely stiff,” he said. “There was a lot of protocol, but it wasn’t too much. We went to a rehearsal (for) those of us in the honors procession on Saturday. And it was kind of relaxed. You just had to have the right ID and the right color path to get into certain zones, but it was less than i expected. “We were all very clear about what we had to wear. If I’m a civilian, I had to wear a mourning suit or a dark suit because I have a certain Order of Canada and some medals. There’s just a certain protocol about what you wear which part of your suits … Who arrives when and the order of things, and that was a bit expected.” The group walked the length of Westminster Abbey before turning back, with the Tewksbury group sitting near the front of the Abbey’s west entrance, allowing them to watch everyone arrive for the remainder of the funeral. With people from different parts of the Commonwealth in attendance, there were various methods of honoring the Queen. Some saw it as a celebration of her life, while others solemnly mourned it. According to Tewksbury, the city of London “buzzed” with people. Arriving at the cathedral a few minutes after 10 a.m. (GMT), the service began at 11 a.m., with the group leaving the cathedral just before 12:30 p.m. “Today was definitely like a change of tone in a nice way, very respectful. It’s kind of sad — quiet, calm and peaceful,” Tewksbury said. “It really was a very fine service. It wasn’t too long and it did a wonderful honor to the Queen, both as an individual and as a monarch.” Along with the fact that it was “as great an honor as I could have hoped for,” Tewksbury was proud to be able to represent Canada with the diversity within the delegation. “We had a gay man, a black man and an Asian woman. We were really diverse. We were probably one of the youngest people in the profession of honor. And so it’s really, really great to represent our country in this way.”
