David Beckham weeps as he solemnly walks past Queen’s coffin after queuing from 2am for THIRTEEN HOURS along with thousands of other mourners to pay his respects to Her Majesty
By BRITTANY CHAIN & ELIZABETH HAIGH
David Beckham wiped a tear from his eye as he approached the Queen’s coffin following a 13-hour wait in the five-mile-long queue.
The football star joined the queue about 2am and purchased a box of doughnuts to share with fellow mourners who were lining up near him, managing to avoid detection for hours because of the ‘mutual respect’ he shared with fellow attendees.
As he finally reached the end of the line, a changing of the guard took place. Broadcast cameras hovered on him as he watched on solemnly.
He was emotional as he waited his turn to pay his respects alongside the crown of thousands, seen wiping the corner of his eye and covering his mouth with his hand as he approached the front of the procession.
The father-of-four finally reached the Queen’s coffin about 3.30pm after lining up 13 hours, and took just a few seconds to bow his head before moving on to make way for the people behind him.
He earlier told ITV news it was a ‘difficult’ and ‘sad’ day, recalling the ‘special moment’ he was awarded an OBE.
‘To receive my OBE, I took my grandparents with me, who were the ones that really brought me up to be a huge royalist and a fan of the royal family, and obviously I had my wife there as well.
‘To step up, to get my honour, but then also Her Majesty, to ask questions, to talk, I was so lucky that I was able to have a few moments like that in my life, to be around Her Majesty.
‘Because we can all see with the love that has been shown, how special she is and how special she was and the legacy that she leaves behind… It’s a sad day, but it’s a day for us to remember the incredible legacy that she’s left.’
He added: ‘I think it’ll take a long time to understand [the Queen’s death] because I think Her Majesty meant so much in so many different ways.’
Beckham said he will forever consider himself lucky to have met the Queen on so many occasions.
‘To represent my country, to be captain of my country, every time that we stood there and we wore those Three Lions shirts and I had my armband and we sang God Save Our Queen, that was something that meant so much to us and every time that we did it, it was something special,’ he said.
‘This day was always going to be difficult for the nation, it’s difficult for everyone around the world because everyone is feeling it.
‘Our thoughts are with the family and obviously with everybody here today because it’s special to be here, to celebrate and to hear the different stories, what people have to say.
‘There’s an 84-year-old woman walking around in a blazer with her honours and a pair of high heels on – so it’s very special to hear the different stories.
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