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I'll give the gaff to him because the music started DURING the toast but since he's got his head in his notes, it has all the sincerity of a jr. high school speech class project.

Ah! But that perfectly identifies his second gaffe (the first being the notes ).

“Ladies and Gentlemen,
please stand with me –
and raise your glasses –
as I propose a toast. -
To Her Majesty –
the Queen.
[Cue God save the Queen]

the vitality of the special relationship -
between our peoples -
and in the words of Shakespeare -
to this blessed plot -
this earth -
this realm -
this England -
to the Queen”

You can see perfectly how he made a full toast to the queen (beginning, middle, and end) and then the music started, just like it always does when one toasts "to the Queen." Then he makes his second gaffe by not recognizing the music or standing still, but instead continuing to bury his nose in his notes and plowing forward with the second, poorly worded, toast.

AndyC wrote:Did Obongo mess up - or was it the Brits who played the anthem early?

He stood up and said, "To her majesty, the queen." That's the cue to the band to play the anthem, which they did. He then continued his toast after the anthem started, thinking it was background music adding a crescendo to his words. He concluded with yet another, "to the queen." The Brits stood still as the queen mumbled under her breath at him and only then did he realize he'd messed up. He had no idea what the British protocol was. And he even had note cards on which his words were planned and notes could be written! His stuff really messed up. Again. Flubs on interacting with foreign dignitaries seems to be one of his hallmarks. Someone ought to have been fired by now.