He believed his grandad wouldn’t have approved
David Beckham turned down an offer from an MP to skip the lengthy queue for the Queen’s coffin and chose to wait more than 12 hours instead to pay his respects.
The former footballer queued with the rest of the public at 2am on Friday morning, eventually entering Westminster Hall in at around 3pm in the afternoon.
But it turns out he didn’t have to do this, and had the option to queue jump like many MPs did.
An MP is able to take four people with them in the faster queue for press, but Becks is said to have felt that his grandfather, a firm royalist, would not have approved of him taking the quicker option to walk past Her Majesty’s coffin.
David Beckham wiped away a tear as he paid his respects to the Queen after queueing for 13 hours.
Beckham slowly bowed his head and stared at the floor as he viewed the Queen's coffin.
Read more here: https://t.co/d1vJyHthxE pic.twitter.com/hsv3OoAFMO
— Sky News (@SkyNews) September 16, 2022
A source told the Daily Mail: “David could have avoided all of the queuing but he wanted to be like everyone else.
“He said his grandad wouldn’t have [jumped the queue] so neither would he.
“He had been wondering all week when the best time was to go and finally he went for this morning. David was brought up in an East End family who were real royalists – the kind who would stand to attention when the national anthem came on. He wanted to go to see the Queen like any other member of the public.”
MPs and some celebrities, such as Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield, have come in for criticism after choosing to queue jump to pay their respects to the late monarch.
Kirstie Allsopp in particular voiced her anger at those who “think they’re too important to queue.”
This with bells on, Good on David for queuing, and shame on those who think they are too important to queue. https://t.co/hT9LlkPjyu
— Kirstie Allsopp (@KirstieMAllsopp) September 16, 2022
Despite queuing, Beckham has also come in for some criticism though, from people who believe he only queued for attention.
This prompted former BBC Breakfast presenter Dan Walker to defend the former Manchester United star.
Walker tweeted: “Fair play to David Beckham for joining the #queueforthequeue. 12 hours plus apparently to pay his respects.”
When one user strongly disagreed, Walker came out in support of Beckham.
Have a word with yourself Chris. He’s been there since 2am this morning. If he wants headlines he pops to the chippy in his PJs
— Dan Walker (@mrdanwalker) September 16, 2022
‘A day to remember the incredible legacy that she’s left’
Explaining to ITV why he wanted to walk past the Queen’s lying in state, David Beckham said: “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,’ he said.
“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.”
