The British soccer icon became emotional at Her Majesty's coffin after he admitted that he had already been queued up for 12 hours overnight.
David Beckham proved he is just like any other British admirer of Queen Elizabeth II as he was spotted standing in the immense line to pay respects to the late monarch lying-in-state in Westminster on Friday (September 16). The uber-famous soccer icon looked quite dapper in his suit as he patiently waited in the miles-long queue for over 12 hours at the time of reporting, having admitted to BBCNews that he joined the line at 2am. When he finally made his way to Her Majesty’s coffin in the grand hall, David was overcome with emotion wiping away tears, as seen in the clip here.
When asked how it had been to share the experience with everyone else in line by the outlet, David answered, “To be honest, it’s what we all envisioned, we all want to be here together, we all want to experience something where we celebrate the amazing life of our queen.” He added, “Something like this is meant to be shared together. “You know, we’re eating Pringles. We’re eating Sherbet Lemons, sandwiches, and coffee.”
Many of the people in line realizing they were waiting with one of their country’s biggest stars took to social media to share the surprise. “Oooh and DAVID BECKHAM is just a few lines behind us in the snake. It’s causing quite the stir!” tweeted Jules Birkby. “The Queue is now full of people trying to photograph David Beckham and forgetting to actually move onwards. It’s madness!” she added.
David Beckham telling us what it’s been like waiting 12 hours to pay his respects to Queen Elizabeth II @BBCPolitics @BBCNews
— Vicki Young (@BBCVickiYoung) September 16, 2022
Later in the day while still waiting in line, David spoke with ITV News about his personal history with the Queen, who died on September 8 at the age of 96. “I was very lucky. The most special moment for me was when I received my OBE (Order of British Empire, the second highest ranking of the British Empire excluding a knighthood/damehood). . . I took my grandparents with me who brought me up to be a huge royalist and of the royal family,” he explained to the outlet. “To have them there and then I step up to get my honour and to talk to Her Majesty. I was lucky to have a few moments with her.”
He also went into detail about what it was like for him to play on the national English football team during the Queen’s reign. “You know I always wanted to represent my country, to be captain in my country, and every time that we stood there when we wore those Three Lion shirts, and I had my armband and we sang, you know, ‘God save our queen.’ That was something that meant so much to us,” he explained.
David Beckham just told @itvnews at 2pm that he joined the #QueueForTheQueen at 2am.
— Chris Ship (@chrisshipitv) September 16, 2022
The line to see the Queen in her coffin stretches for miles along the south bank of the River Thames, according to CNN. As the crowd waits for their turn, they will walk past such landmarks as the London Eye and the Globe theater, per the outlet. The Queen is due to lie in state at Westminster Hall until Monday morning (September 19), when her funeral will be held at Westminster Abbey.
