Over four days, hundreds of thousands of people queued to see the monarch’s coffin at Westminster Hall ahead of today’s state funeral. Among them was David Beckham, who joined the queue at 2am on Friday (September 16) morning wearing a suit, black tie and black flat hat. The former England player said he waited almost 12 hours to see the coffin before the Queen’s funeral, with reports claiming he turned down the chance to use a special access queue. Hosting BBC News’ coverage of the Queen’s funeral on Monday (September 19), presenter Huw Edwards praised Beckham for queuing with the public. “There were quite a few familiar faces queuing for what was in state at Westminster Hall,” Edwards said. “Of course we saw a David Beckham there on Friday. He was widely praised for queuing for hours and hours, not jumping the queue because he’s a VIP superstar.” Edwards then added: “No, he was in the queue for hours and it was good for him.” The clip went viral on Twitter, with one commenter writing: “Love the little dig from Huw Edwards here.” “Howe Edwards! What a man! About queue jumping! Cheery!” another tweeted. Other celebrities queuing to pay their respects to the Queen as she lay in state included Tilda Swinton and Sharon Osbourne. You can read the full list here. But some famous figures, including This Morning presenters Philip Schofield and Holly Willoughby, came under fire for ‘jumping the queue’ when they paid their respects through a press gallery for a separate screening. Beckham leaves Westminster Hall (AFP via Getty Images) This Morning producers denied that the presenters had “jumped the queue, had VIP access or passed the Queen lying in state”, adding that they were instead “there in a professional capacity as part of the world media to cover the event”. The Queen’s coffin will now be taken to Westminster Abbey for her funeral at 11am on Monday. Follow along with all the live updates from the Queen’s funeral here.
