An emotional David Beckham was spotted with tears in his eyes as he paid his respects to the Queen.
The former England captain joined the thousands waiting to see the monarch lying in-state on Friday. In fact, Beckham, 47, joined the lengthy lines in the early hours of the morning to personally pay tribute.
Queen Elizabeth II died at Balmoral last week at the age of 96, with tributes flooding in from across the world. Huge amounts of people have made their way to Westminster Abbey to see her in state before Monday’s state funeral.
And the Manchester United legend was given no special privileges and admitted he had incorrectly hoped that arriving at 2am would have meant he skipped the long queues. "I thought by coming at 2am it was going to be a little bit quieter. I was wrong. Everybody had that in mind,” he told ITV.
"The people here are all ages. There was an 84-year-old lady walking around. There was a 90-year-old gentleman walking around. Everybody wants to be here to be a part of this experience and celebrate what Her Majesty has done for us."
After reaching the Abbey, an emotional Beckham was captured on the dedicated live stream wiping tears from his eyes. While queueing with other observers, he recalled the special moment he was given an OBE in 2003.
"A special moment I'll always remember is receiving my OBE," he added." I took my grandparents with me, who were the ones who brought me up to be a huge Royalist and a fan of the royal family.
"To step up, I have my wife there as well, to get my honour and to speak to Her Majesty. To ask a question. I was so lucky to have a few moments like that in my life.
"To be around Her Majesty. We can all see the love that is being shown 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."
With queues stretching for miles, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport confirmed that further people would be stopped from joining. "Southwark Park has reached capacity. Entry will be paused for at least 6 hours. We are sorry for any inconvenience,” the statement reads.
"Please do not attempt to join the queue until it reopens. Check back for further updates."
Following the news of Her Majesty’s passing last Thursday, as a mark of respect all football matches were postponed. Fixtures are set to resume this weekend, although some Premier League fixtures have again been cancelled due to stretched resources across major cities.
Arsenal's Europa League game against PSV Eindhoven has already been rearranged for October, while two Premier League matches - Chelsea v Liverpool and Manchester United v Leeds United - were postponed after the funeral date was confirmed.
* You can now buy Friday's historic Daily Mirror commemorating the death of the Queen here: mirror.co.uk/commemorative
