David Beckham declines offer to jump queue ahead of the vigil being closed off to public

David Beckham turned down the change 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."

Meanwhile, entry to the queue for Westminster Hall will close permanently when the queue reaches final capacity.

Mourners wishing to pay their respects to Queen Elizabeth - who died at the age of 96 on September 8 following a 70-year reign and is currently lying-in-state at the historic building - had already been told to "not set off" but a more recent update from DCMS claims that the current wait time is "at least" seven hours.

In a tweet, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport said: HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN'S LYING-IN-STATE QUEUE UPDATE, 7:50PM, 18 Sep. Entry to the queue will close when it reaches final capacity. Queue end point is at London Bridge Estimated queuing time is 7 hours."

Hundreds of thousands of mourners have been filing past the coffin in Westminster since it was put on display, with some facing a waiting time of up to 30 hours, but Her Late Majesty will leave the historic London building for the final time on Monday morning, just hours before her State Funeral is set to take place from 11am.

Prior to the tweet sent out on Sunday (18.09.22) afternoon, members of the public wishing to pay their respects to the monarch had initially been warned that they needed   to be in the queue by 12:30am on Monday (19.09.22) in order to make it into Westminster Hall before it closes at 6:30am.

Over the course of the last week, two vigils had been held at the historic hall, first with the Queen's children standing by her coffin in silence as members of the public filed past before her grandchildren repeated the procedure on Wednesday.

King Charles - who acceded to the throne the moment his mother passed - was near the head of the coffin while his younger siblings Anne, Princess Royal, Prince Andrew, and Prince Edward were arranged on the other sides.

Eugenie and Beatrice - who are the daughters of Prince Andrew and his ex-wife Sarah, Duchess York, - could be seen on the platform to the side of the coffin along with their cousins Zara and Peter.

Just 24 hours later, Prince William - who is now heir apparent following his father's accession to the throne - stood at the head of the coffin and his younger brother, Prince Harry, at the foot.

- Bang! Showbiz