A man who pushed through a queue of well-wishers and tried to grab the Queen’s coffin has been arrested.
The shocking incident, which happened at Westminster on Friday, left mourners stunned as police tackled the man to the ground.
According to reports, the man rushed from queue of mourners – among them a 7-year-old girl – and tried to lift the royal standard.
The man is thought to have placed his hands on the queen’s coffin as footage before and after the incident shows the Royal Standard, the official flag of the sovereign, has been moved.
Her Majesty has been lying in state at Westminster Hall to let people come and pay their respects.
Hundreds of thousands of well-wishers have passed through the building in the last couple of days.
But on Friday night, respectful mourners were shocked when the incident occurred only hours after King Charles and other members of the Royal Family held a vigil in honor of the late monarch.
One well-wisher who witnessed the incident told how a woman ‘screamed’ when she saw the man running toward the Queen’s coffin.
“We saw him (the man) in the queue from the beginning of the queue and throughout the day, he was by himself.
“When we entered the room we were at the top of the stairs when we saw the incident. A lady screamed as it happened it was quite unnerving. Although he was detained and people kept calm and carried on.”
Another witness, Tracey Holland – whose 7-year-old niece was pushed by the man – said: “A person decided they were going to push my seven-year-old niece out the way, run up to the coffin, lift up the standard and try to do I don’t know what. She was grabbed out the way and the police had him within two seconds.”
Holland also said that it was so ‘disrespectful’ as this was her niece’s lasting memory of the Queen.
Police confirmed that the man had already been arrested on suspicion of a public order offense.
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