The retired soccer star was spotted queuing on Friday morning to see the Queen’s coffin, which currently lies in state at Westminster Hall until her funeral on Monday, September 19. Speaking to ITV News in the queue, Beckham revealed he had joined the long queue at 2am last night and waited for more than 12 hours with his compatriots to get to the Palace of Westminster. The former Manchester United star said he hoped arriving in the middle of the night would make his wait a little shorter, but it seemed many others had the same idea. “I thought coming at 2am it would be a bit quieter. I was wrong,” he said. “Everybody had it in mind.” “Everyone wants to be here, to be part of this experience and to celebrate what Her Majesty has done for us,” he added. The 12-hour wait to see the Queen’s coffin also took a physical toll on Beckham, who told BBC News: ‘The knees are fine. It’s the back and the legs.” Beckham, 47, was dressed in an all black flat hat, suit and matching black tie as he approached Westminster Hall on Friday morning. However, as soon as he entered the hall, he removed his hat as a sign of respect. Beckham also appeared emotional, wiping tears from his eyes as he arrived at the Queen’s coffin lying in state. Many fans praised the father-of-four who waited in line for nearly 12 hours, as did the rest of the public who wanted to see the Queen’s coffin lie in state. “Kudos to this man who could play the VIP card,” one person tweeted. “David Beckham queues for 12 hours to pay tribute to the Queen – further proof that he is, financially, one of life’s good people,” said another. In London, the queue to see the Queen’s coffin has now reached an expected waiting time of “at least 22 hours”, according to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media. The queue reopened on Friday after reaching capacity with a wait of at least 14 hours. Earlier today, the queue was once again halted for 40 minutes when it reached capacity and the DCMS urged mourners not to join the queue until at least 4pm. It means those wishing to join the queue in Southwark Park, south-east London, are not expected to reach the Queen’s coffin at Westminster Hall until tomorrow night. The line to Westminster Hall in the Houses of Parliament, where the Queen’s coffin lies until her funeral on Monday, currently stretches five miles across London.
