International soccer player David Beckham claimed he and other members of the public waited for more than 12 hours on Friday to pay their respects to the late Queen Elizabeth II.
“I grew up in a household of royalists, and I was brought up that way,” Beckham said over the phone to British broadcaster ITV News.
He kept moving forward as the queue snaked towards Westminster Hall while conducting the interview.
“I get yelled at if I hold up the line,” Beckham explained.
The line to see the queen laying in state was so lengthy early Friday that it was momentarily halted for six hours.
Beckham, who claimed he’d eaten coffee, Pringles, and doughnuts with the others waiting around him, said he was there to represent his grandparents and family, as well as “clearly to rejoice with everybody else here.”
“This day was always going to be painful,” he added, “and it’s difficult for the country, it’s difficult for everyone across the world, because I think everyone is experiencing it.” “Our thoughts are with the family, and certainly with everyone here today, because being here to celebrate and hear the many tales is amazing.”
Beckham stated that he began using the line, which runs through central London, extremely early Friday morning. The wait time, which is being tracked live on a line tracker, has reached 14 hours.
