The queen's coffin is currently Lying in State at Westminster Hall. The state funeral's set for Monday.
King Charles III and Prince William made a surprise appearance Saturday and greeted mourners waiting in line to see Queen Elizabeth II's coffin Lying in State at Westminster Hall.
The new monarch and Prince of Wales were seen shaking hands and exchanging pleasantries with mourners near Lambeth Bridge. Many of the mourners smiled and seemed genuinely surprised to see the new king and his heir. Both Charles and William wore black suits with a white dress shirt and black tie. Charles accessorized the outfit with a pocket square, watch, cuff links and lapel pin.
There were several tender moments during the surprise appearance, including Charles being handed what appeared to look like a sketch of the queen's face on a white sheet of paper. The king marveled at the work and briefly spoke to the woman that handed it to him.
Separately, William was seen shaking hands with a Paddington Bear plush toy! Queen Elizabeth and Paddington Bear have a sweet history. In fact, Her Majesty joined the lovable character in a sketch to kick off her star-studded Platinum Party at the Palace earlier this year. The sketch included Paddington and Elizabeth each pulling out marmalade sandwiches for their teatime.
The queen's relationship with Paddington was accentuated when mourners left marmalade sandwiches at her floral tribute outside Buckingham Palace. But, when the marmalade sandwiches started piling up, the Royal Parks organization reportedly asked mourners to stop leaving sandwiches at the tribute "because of the negative impact on the park's wildlife."
In any event, the surprise appearance came just hours after a man was arrested Friday night after he rushed the queen's coffin and lifted the Royal Standard (the sovereign's official flag). The disturbing incident came after mourners had lined up for hours to see the queen.
David Beckham was among mourners who waited hours to pay their respects. In Beckham's case, the soccer star waited 13 hours with members of the public for his turn to see the late British monarch's coffin inside of Westminster Hall.
Once inside, Beckham, 47, looked visibly emotional, wiping away tears as he walked past the queen's coffin, which is currently lying-in-state for members of the public to pay their respects ahead of Monday's State Funeral.
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