David Beckham snubbed an offer from an MP to skip the Elizabeth line and instead waited 13 hours to pay his respects to The Queen.
The global icon queued with the rest of the public amid criticism aimed at the so-called social elite for bypassing the huge waiting time. Former England football captain Beckham, dressed in an overcoat and wearing a hat, joined the line at 2am and remained firm in his view that he should queue - citing the influence of his Grandfather.
An MP is able to take four people with them but Beckham felt his Grandfather, a firm royalist, would not have approved. A source told the Daily Mail : "David could have avoided all of the queuing but he wanted to be like everyone else.
"He said his grandad wouldn’t have [jumped the queue] so neither would he.
"He had been wondering all week when the best time was to go and finally he went for this morning. David was brought up in an East End family who were real royalists – the kind who would stand to attention when the national anthem came on.
"He wanted to go to see the Queen like any other member of the public."
Beckham, who splits his life between England and the United States, had aimed to bypass the huge waiting time by joining the queue in the early hours of the morning - only to later realise that was an error.
He claimed: "I thought by coming at 2am it was going to be a little bit quieter. I was wrong. Everybody had that in mind."
Beckham, 47, was spotted with tears in his eyes as he paid his respects to the Queen when he was finally able to see the monarch lying in-state on Friday.
The former Manchester United and England star, who had previously been honoured by the Queen, also told ITV : "A special moment I'll always remember is receiving my OBE. I took my grandparents with me, who were the ones who brought me up to be a huge Royalist and a fan of the royal family. To step up, I have my wife there as well, to get my honour and to speak to Her Majesty.
"To ask a question. I was so lucky to have a few moments like that in my life. To be around Her Majesty. We can all see the love that is being shown how special she was and the legacy that she leaves behind. It's a sad day but it's a day for us to remember the incredible legacy that she's left."
Beckham received his OBE in 2003 for services to football. In a long career, he won over 100 caps for the England national team and played football in several countries including England, Spain and the United States.
Queen Elizabeth II passed last week at the age of 96 after becoming the UK's longest serving monarch. Her funeral will take place on Monday.
