Tottenham manager Antonio Conte has revealed he went down to Buckingham Palace “like a normal person” mourning the Queen last Friday.
With football postponed last weekend, Conte wore a hat to keep a low profile and headed across London with his brother Daniele to join the hundreds of thousands paying their respects.
He explained: “On Friday, I went to Buckingham Palace like a normal person, because I am a normal person! I did it with a hat to live this situation because I think, for sure, we will remember this for the rest of our lives.
“I want to give condolences from me, from the club, from the players to the royal family. Then football has to go ahead and we will do it, but I think the Premier League made an important decision to stop football and show respect for the death of the Queen.”
Spurs are due to wear black armbands and hold a minute’s silence ahead of Tuesday night’s Champions League tie against Sporting Lisbon. Conte added: “For sure, what happened in the last few days in England is something extraordinary.
“Honestly, on Thursday, we were all sad because we are talking about a person that her service for this country was outstanding. I think that in this moment, there is big sadness in the country for this and [I was] living this atmosphere in London.
“We are talking about a situation that we will look at as the story of the future. To stay here in this moment and to live this moment here is for sure a sad moment, but at the same time, it is a special moment because we are talking about the death of the Queen.
“She was 96 years old and honestly, for me, it was very difficult to believe she was dead, because in your mind you think that the Queen was immortal. To live this situation in London, in this specific moment, for sure I will keep this in my heart, in my mind for the rest of my life.”
Conte admitted the postponement of last weekend’s game against Manchester City allowed his men to recover from last week’s Champions League win over Marseille on Matchday One.
With the exception of Lucas Moura, Tottenham are ready to rumble again with two games in three days as the North Londoners host Leicester in the Premier League on Saturday.
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Conte added: “For sure, not playing on Saturday has given us the chance to recover better. The situation has changed because when you play every two or three days, it is very difficult.
“You need to rotate because the players need rest, otherwise you risk injuries. At the same time, in two or three days you need energy. In this case, the game against City was postponed, it gives us the chance to recover well and to be more relaxed in picking the starting eleven.”
