Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield have explained what happened when they were spotted inside Westminster Hall while the Queen was lying in state. The duo have been hosting special episodes of This Morning following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, paying tribute by sharing viewers' memories and chatting to those who knew or had met the late monarch.
However, Holly and Phillip were seen in Westminster Hall on Friday and were accused of 'jumping the queue' to see the Queen's coffin while hundreds of thousands of people queued for up to 14 hours to pay their final respects to Her Majesty following her death, aged 96, at Balmoral on September 8.
On Monday morning, ahead of the Queen's state funeral, the last mourners paid their final respects to Queen Elizabeth II in Westminster Hall before the was taken to Westminster Abbey in procession with her children and grandchildren behind her. Appearing on This Morning on Tuesday, Holly addressed the controversy in a VT which documented the pair's visit to Westminster Hall.
READ MORE: Minister reveals how many people waited in 'The Queue' to see the Queen's coffin
Holly, wearing a black pinafore dress over a white shirt, said: "Hello, good morning and welcome to Tuesday's show. As a new chapter in history begins with the reign of King Charles III, we're taking a look back on the 11 days."
They then introduced a video montage which featured clips of their coverage of the Queen's death, starting from the moment they went off air hours before Her Majesty's death was announced before Alison Hammond and Dermot O'Leary were seen visiting the floral display at Green Park, where tributes were moved to from Buckingham Palace.
Holly also told viewers: "My children also paid tribute" as the clip of her reading out her three children's letters played out. They soon moved on to the four days of the Queen lying in state and the footage showed how the pair went down to chat to people in the queue.
This then saw the pair explain how they were able to enter Westminster Hall and how they didn't file past the Queen's coffin like those who had queued for hours to pay their final respects.
The 41-year-old could be heard saying in a voiceover: "Like hundreds of accredited broadcasters and journalists, we were given official permission to access the hall.
"It was strictly for the purpose of reporting on the event for millions of people in the UK who haven't been able to visit Westminster in person. The rules were that we would be quickly escorted around the edges to a platform at the back. In contrast, those paying respects walked along a carpeted area beside the coffin and were given time to pause."
She continued: "None of the broadcasters and journalists there took anyone's place in the queue and no one filed passed the Queen. We, of course, respected those rules, however, we realise that it may have looked like something else and therefore totally understand the reaction."
She then added: "Please know that we would never jump a queue." It comes after thousands of This Morning viewers signed for them to be 'axed' from the show. A petition, on Change.org, had been signed my more than 13,900 people at the time of writing.
It comes after fellow ITV star Susanna Reid, who hosts Good Morning Britain, queued for several hours with her 81-year-old mother and former footballer David Beckham spent more than 12 hours waiting to pay his respects among thousands of other mourners. And in the final night of the Queen's lying in state, singer James Blunt was spotted alongside his wife Sofia Wellesley in the miles-long queue stretching through London.
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- Eamonn Holmes' savage dig at former ITV This Morning co-stars Holly Willougby and Phillip Schofield over 'queue jump'
