Queen queue: Why mourners love David Beckham and dislike Phillip Schofield as King meets visitors?

Her Majesty sadly passed away on September 8, at the age of 96.

Hundreds of thousands of people are waiting to pay their respects to the late monarch.

Famous faces are among the visitors.

Some have caused quite a stir, while others have received rapturous applause and support.

David Beckham, Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby are among them.

What is the current state of the queue?

Mourners are currently expected to wait 16.5 hours to see the Queen lying-in-state on the catafalque.

This is according to the live tracker on the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport YouTube channel.

King Charles III and the Prince of Wales have greeted mourners in the queue this afternoon.

People cheered and applauded, with dozens shouted ‘hip hip hooray’ as they walked down the line and stopped to chat to individuals.

Several people called their friends and relatives on the phone to tell them what they had just witnessed.

Others also shouted ‘God save the King’ and ‘God save the Prince of Wales’ as each passed.

William could be heard discussing how long people had waited and whether they were able to keep warm.

Several people cried after meeting him, and one woman told him: ‘You’ll be a brilliant king one day.’

Among those to queue for hours was the former England international captain David Beckham.

Why was David Beckham applauded for his conduct?

The former Manchester United and Real Madrid midfielder queued for 13 hours to pay his respects to Her Majesty.

He joined other mourners at 2am yesterday morning.

The 47-year-old appeared to wipe away a tear before nodding his head towards the Queen’s coffin

Before entering the hall he said: ‘There should always be respect paid to our Queen in the country in this time of mourning.

‘But speaking as an ex-football player and an ex-England captain I know what it meant for us to step out on that field to represent our Queen and our country and the Three Lions.’

As he joined the queue with other visitors, Mr Beckham received a positive response

Other famous faces, such as Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby, did not.

Why are people upset with Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby?

The presenters of This Morning have been accused of queue jumping to see the Queen lying-in-state.

An ITV source told the Daily Express that Mr Schofield and Ms Willoughby had press accreditation, so did not have to join the queue.

The source said: ‘Holly and Phillip were not able to pay respects in the same way that the queueing public would have, therefore [were] not jumping that queue.’

They were at Westminster Abbey alongside other broadcasters and news outlets – filming a press segment for an upcoming show.

Despite the reasoning, their actions threw Twitter into a frenzy – with accusations of queue jumping.

Both broadcasters are trending on the social media platform.

Annie Christian tweeted: ‘Philip Schofield skips the queue to see The Queen’s coffin!

‘Why does Holly Willoughby have a face mask on? Because she’s ashamed she’s a queue jumper? ‘Disgraceful.’

Sarah added: ‘Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield have jumped the queue, to view the coffin.

‘Other people, like Susanna Reid and David Beckham have joined the back of the queue.

SEE ALSO: Queen lying-in-state: Queue length, wait times, live tracker, reopened and is it illegal to jump queue?

‘This tell you everything you need to know about the “poverty game show” duet.’

What are the rules around the queue?

The Black Rod, responsible for controlling access to the coffin and maintaining order, have issued passes to MPs and four guests to see the Queen lying-in-state.

People have been asked by police to ‘respect the dignity of this event’ – in reference to queueing and behaviour inside Westminster Hall.

A statement on its website said: ‘Stewards and police officers will patrol the queue.

‘Antisocial or inappropriate behaviour (including queue-jumping, excessive consumption of alcohol or drunken behaviour) will not be tolerated and you will be removed from the queue.’