Science & Tech

Michael Gove has a smartwatch, and it plays Beyoncé

Michael Gove has a smartwatch, and it plays Beyoncé

The mystery of Michael Gove's ringtone has been solved - by his own wife.

An intriguing report in the Times (£) last week about an incident where Gove's mobile apparently went off during a Cabinet meeting had led to wild speculation about what tune the chief whip had on his phone.

According to the newspaper, Gove would not reveal his highly distinctive ringtone because it was "an in-joke".

The Guardian even started an open thread asking its readers what they thought it could be, with responses ranging from the Pinky and the Brain theme tune to the Imperial March from Star Wars.

But this morning in her Daily Mail column, Gove's wife Sarah Vine revealed it was actually Beyoncé - and that the device was a Pebble smartwatch, rather than a phone.

She said he pressed the wrong button on the device, meaning it played "Beyoncé's latest oeuvre" as George Osborne was "explaining a particularly complex piece of fiscal policy to Her Majesty’s assembled Cabinet".

She added: "Try as he might, he simply could not silence her warblings. The more buttons he pressed, the more effusive she got."

This, by the way, is Beyoncé's most recent single - and we dearly hope it was the one played in Cabinet.

More: Michael Gove just bought a 'how to be a government whip' guide

The Conversation (0)
x