Man Arrested for Attempting to Lift Queen’s Coffin: Reports

Metropolitan Police in London have reportedly arrested a person for trying to hurry at Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin as she lies in state at Westminster Corridor.

“At [10 A.M.] on Friday 16 September officers from the Met’s Parliamentary and Diplomatic Safety Command detained a person in Westminster Corridor following a disturbance,” a spokesperson for the police pressure confirmed in an announcement on Friday, September 16, per The Telegraph. “He was arrested for an offence below the Public Order Act and is at present in custody.”

In response to the Day by day Mail, the man pushed several mourners out of the way in his try to run towards the queen’s casket. He reportedly tried to elevate up the Royal Commonplace, which covers her coffin, and likewise reached out to the touch it. Authorities reportedly tackled the person to the bottom earlier than arresting him. The BBC, which has been been livestreaming the queen’s mendacity in state 24 hours a day, additionally shortly lower away from the coffin when the incident passed off, per the outlet. When the cameras centered on the coffin once more, the sovereign flag appeared to have been moved.

The queen died at at Balmoral Fortress in Scotland on September 8 on the age of 96. Following a procession from Aberseenshire to Edinburgh, her physique was transported to London on Tuesday, September 13, the place King Charles III and several other different members of the royal household acquired her at Buckingham Palace. The next day, they took half in one other procession to Westminster Corridor, the place she has been mendacity in state for guests to bid her a ultimate farewell. She’s going to stay there till her funeral on Monday, September 19.

Among the many hundreds of people that turned out to honor Queen Elizabeth on Friday was David Beckham, who waited 13 hours in a queue extending 5 miles earlier than he was lastly in a position to method the coffin. The retired soccer star, 47, was seen wiping away tears as he waited contained in the chapel and later expressed his condolences to the royal household.

“I used to be so fortunate I used to be in a position to have just a few moments in my life to be round Her Majesty,” he informed ITV Information. “[This is] a tragic day but it surely’s a day to recollect the unbelievable legacy she left. … It’s particular to be right here to have a good time, and to listen to the completely different tales that individuals need to say.” The previous Manchester United participant — who was appointed an OBE (Order of the British Empire) in 2003 — added that his household all the time had quite a lot of affection for the late monarch. “I grew up in a family of royalists and I used to be introduced up that manner,” he mentioned. “I do know that [my grandparents] would have needed to be right here, so I’m right here on their behalf and on behalf of my household.”

He continued: “This present day was all the time going to be troublesome, and it’s troublesome for the nation, it’s troublesome for everybody all over the world, as a result of I believe everyone seems to be feeling it, and our ideas are with the household and clearly with all people right here as we speak.”