David Beckham turned down the chance to jump the queue at Queen Elizabeth’s vigil.
The 47-year-old former footballer queued with fellow mourners for over 13 hours to pay his respects to the late monarch at Westminster Hall in London this week and it has been revealed that he declined an invitation from an MP, who is allowed to take up to four guests, to skip the queue.
A source told the Daily Mail newspaper: “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.
“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.”
David dressed in a suit for his long wait, because he said his grandfather Joseph West – a staunch royalist who died in 2009 at the age of 83 – would have done the same.
David, who met the Queen several times as England football captain and received his OBE from her in 2003, spoke about why it was important for him to pay his respects.
He said: “Every time we stood there when we wore those Three Lion shirts and I had my armband, and we sang God save our Queen, that was something that meant so much to us. Every time we did it, it was something special.
“So this day was always going to be difficult. It’s difficult for the nation, it’s difficult for everyone around the world, because I think everyone is feeling it, and 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 that people have to say. I thought by coming at 2am, it was going to be a little bit quieter – I was wrong.
“Probably the most special moment for me was when I received 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, 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.
“Because we can all see with the love that has been shown, how special she was and the legacy she leaves behind. It’s a sad day, but it’s a day for us to remember the incredible legacy that she’s left.”