A man is now in custody after he appeared to rush Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin in Westminster Hall.
Security guards swarmed the suspect as he allegedly ran toward Her Majesty, who is lying-in-state in the London building until her funeral proceedings begin early Monday, per ITV and The Guardian.
Man Arrested After Appearing To Rush Queen Elizabeth’s Coffin
Metropolitan Police released a statement on the incident shortly after, stating: “Around 22:00hrs on Friday 16 September officers from the Met’s Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command detained a man in Westminster Hall following a disturbance,” the outlets reported.
Met Police added, “He was arrested for an offence under the Public Order Act and is currently in custody.” They did not release his identity.
A source told the Guardian the man ran out of line and climbed the steps to touch the coffin before being detained. The live stream from the venue abruptly stopped for roughly 15 minutes after the incident, per The Sun.
Bystanders informed the outlet how they were shocked about what happened. One alleged the suspect tried to pull the flag from the Queen’s coffin, calling the event “extremely upsetting.”
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“We thought someone had fainted and then we heard someone shriek,” they said. “Someone got up to the coffin, grabbed the flag and pulled it upwards. They picked up the bottom and wafted it, almost to see what was underneath. It happened so fast.”
Another witness told The Wall Street Journal, “People near to it screamed.”
Over 2,000 people from around the world will gather at Westminster Abbey to honor the late monarch on Sept. 19 following her death on Sept. 8 at Balmoral Castle in Scotland.
New details about the upcoming state funeral have since been released, which reveal that proceedings will commence at 10:35 a.m. local time when her coffin is moved from Westminster Hall to Westminster Abbey.
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All of the Queen’s children and grandchildren are expected to attend as well as a number of world leaders.
And for those not in the U.K., the funeral will be viewable across the pond as several news stations broadcast it on television. The funeral will also be available on the live stream.
If you have cable TV, live coverage of the funeral is expected to air on NBC, CNN, ABC, and Fox News. Additionally, the funeral will be televised in the U.K. on BBC One, BBC News, and Sky News.
The funeral service is expected to begin at 11 a.m. local time, which would be 6 a.m. ET. BBC is set to stream its coverage for those hoping to tune into the funeral online.