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David Beckham hailed after shock gesture for Queen Elizabeth II

Riley Morgan
·Sports Reporter
·5-min read
David Beckham (pictured right) smiling after leaving Westminster Hall and (pictured left) Beckham queuing up to see Queen Elizabeth II's coffin,
David Beckham (pictured right) was praised for lining up for 12 hours and not skipping the queue and joining his fellow Brits to pay respect to Queen Elizabeth II.

Football icon David Beckham has proven once again why he is so popular with the British people after waiting 12 hours in the queue to visit Queen Elizabeth II's coffin to pay his respects.

The 47-year-old former Manchester United and Real Madrid midfielder made social media waves when those lining up were stunned to see Beckham join them in the queue.

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Attention made its way to the media and he was eventually interviewed after fellow queuers said he joined them around 2.15 am local time.

"We all want to be here together, we all want to experience something where we celebrate the amazing life of our queen. Something like this today is meant to be shared together," Beckham told reporters.

Beckham was wearing a dark flat cap and a dark suit with a black tie.

The sport and fashion icon shared food with his fellow queuers and talked about trying to keep everyones spirits up during the long wait.

"I thought by coming at 2am it was going to be a little bit quieter. I was wrong," Beckham said with a smile.

"Everybody had that in mind. But there are people of all ages...everybody wants to be here and be a part of this experience.

"And celebrate what Her Majesty has done for us."

He told ITV that he shared a special moment with the Queen and his grandparents, which stood out to him.

David Beckham (pictured) leaves Westminster Hall.
David Beckham (pictured) leaves Westminster Hall after paying his respects to the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II. (Photo by Louisa Gouliamaki / AFP) (Photo by LOUISA GOULIAMAKI/AFP via Getty Images) (LOUISA GOULIAMAKI via Getty Images)

"The most special moment for me was to receive my OBE (Order of British Empire). I took my grandparents with me who were huge royalists," Beckham said.

"I was so lucky that I was able to have a few moments like that in my life to be around Her Majesty. It's a sad day, but a day to remember."

Beckham garnered plenty of social media attention for queuing up with his fellow Brits.

Many also claimed he showed his class, considering many celebrities had the opportunity to skip the line.

One lady in the line said Beckham had been wonderful, despite the attention he had garnered.

"Big respect to him, he's stood with us and he's paid his respects how he wants to and I think that's amazing," she told the BBC.

Television footage of Westminster Hall showed Beckham, who met the queen several times during her 70-year reign, looked tearful as he waited to file past her coffin.

An emotional Beckham bowed his head and closed his eyes for a moment during the tribute.

Queues to visit the Queen's coffin extended to a 14 hour wait at one stage as it snaked its way for kilometres through central London to parliament's Westminster Hall.

Some 750,000 people in total are expected to file past the coffin before Monday morning.

David Beckham's tribute to the Queen

Last week, Beckham paid tribute to the Queen in a social media post.

"How devastated we all feel today shows what she meant to people in this country and around the world. How much she inspired us with her leadership," he wrote.

"How she comforted us when times were tough."

with Reuters

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