The death ofElizabeth II, very popular after more than 70 years of reign, aroused immense emotion in the United Kingdom. After a cold night, the queue to see his coffin stretched for miles along the River Thames on Saturday morning and the wait was estimated to be “at least 24 hours” according to the government.
Some 750,000 people could be queuing to view the Queen’s coffin, London transport officials say. The public has until Monday morning 6:30 am to pay a last tribute to the sovereign.
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On Friday, ex-star footballer David Beckham slipped into the crowd to bow, visibly movedin front of the coffin of Queen Elizabeth, who died on September 8 at her castle in Balmoral in Scotland.
David Beckham refused an MP’s offer to skip the queue to pay his respects to Queen Elizabeth II, believing his grandfather would not have approved of him taking the plunge. So he stood in line for 13 hours with the rest of the public. The marie of victory Beckham joined the queue at 2 a.m. and remained a firm believer that he had to queue, citing the influence of his grandfather.
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A deputy can take four people with him, but David Beckham felt that his grandfather, a staunch royalist, would not have approved.
“David could have avoided queuing, but he wanted to be like everyone else“, explained to the Daily Mail.
“He said his grandfather wouldn’t have sauter tail, so neither does he. He wondered all week when was the best time to go and he finally chose this morning. David was raised in a family of theEast End who were real royalists, the kind who stood to attention when the national anthem sounded. He wanted to go see the Queen like any other member of the public.”
“I thought coming at 2am would make it a bit quieter. I was mistaken. Everyone had that in mind“, explained David Beckham.
“We are all here to say thank you to Her Majesty for being so kind, caring, comforting through the years“, he said on his exit.