Beckham praised for queuing to see The Queen lying in state 'like everybody else'

The former England captain and footballing superstar was spotted queueing for 13 hours alongside other members of the public in central London, joining the queue at 2am on Friday morning.

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Once inside Westminster Hall to see the Queen's coffin, Beckham - an OBE - was emotional and respectfully bowed his head during a brief moment with Her Late Majesty.

Rupert Bell, talkSPORT's royal correspondent, was impressed to see Beckham had dedicated so much time to go and say his final goodbye to the Queen.

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"It's not for everyone [queueing to see the Queen's coffin] and that's quite clear, but you look at the demographics of people going through, it is all walks of life and that's the point," he told talkSPORT's Weekend Breakfast.

"And then you see David Beckham. OK, the media spotlight is going to be on him, but he joined the line at 2 o'clock.

"And fair play, he did it, and he was quoted afterwards saying, 'I did it for my grandmother, my grandfather, who were great royalists'."

Beckham - who played for the England national team 115 times and captained the Three Lions for six years - met the late Queen several times since he started his career.

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But despite being a household name around the world, the ex-footballer blended in with everyone else standing in the queue, as MPs and others faced criticism for skipping the line.

The Inter Miami and Salford City co-owner earned plenty of praise from those besides him in the queue, with the football icon sharing Pringles and doughnuts as they waited to pay their respects.

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"There he was in his suit paying his respects and fair play to him," Bell continued.

"He was just like everybody else, forget his iconic status, he's actually just a British subject paying respect to the Queen."

Explaining his actions, Beckham said he believed the experience was one to be shared.

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"We all want to be here together, we all want to experience something where we celebrate the amazing life of the Queen," Beckham said as he spoke to media from the queue.

"I think something like this today is meant to be shared together. We've been here eating Pringles, we're eating sherbet lemons, we're eating sandwiches, we're having coffees, donuts."

And when asked how long he'd been waiting in the queue, Beckham said just after 2pm: "12 hours. My knees are okay, it's my back!"