Hamilton’s Lin-Manuel Miranda performs King George III song in front of royals
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Lin-Manuel Miranda gave a nod to the Queen’s ancestor King George III during his performance at the Platinum Party at the Palace.
The composer and playwright joined Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber for his section of his performance, which was an homage to British musicals worked on by Lord Lloyd Webber as well as other notable West End shows.
Lord Lloyd Webber, while playing the piano, asked Miranda: “Do you have a Hamilton selection for our Queen?,” referencing his Tony and Olivier award-winning rap musical about American founding father Alexander Hamilton.
The musical pokes fun at the British monarchy with the character of King George III, who is portrayed as an extravagant, pompous king.
Miranda then sang a version of the Hamilton song, What Comes Next?, which is sung by King George III in the West End and Broadway production.
King George III is the Queen’s great-great-great-great grandfather.
In a version of the song, where he changed the lyrics, Miranda sang: “You say that everyone here will be getting a bank holiday.
“You see, it’s not every year there’s a Platinum Queen’s Jubilee. Not so bad, I mean I’m from New York so I don’t really know what that means, but it sounds rad.
“It’s been quite a journey from northern Manhattan to Queens.”
He then introduced the London cast of Hamilton, where they performed another song from the show, called Wait For It.
The musical section also featured performances from the Phantom Of The Opera, the Lion King and Joseph, with Jason Donovan as the lead, and the musical Six.
Six is another nod to the British monarchy as it is a musical about Henry VIII’s six wives.
Miranda’s performance at the event was not the first time members of the royal family have seen Hamilton.
The Queen’s grandson, the Duke of Sussex, watched the show at London’s Victoria Palace with his wife, the Duchess of Sussex, in 2018, before the couple moved to the US.
After the performance, Duke of Sussex joked about playing his ancestor by breaking out into a version of What Comes Next?.
