He appeared to be trembling before falling over
A member of the Queen’s Guard dramatically collapsed and fell from the coffin podium in Westminster Hall on Wednesday.
Queues of people have been snaking their way through the streets of London to see the Queen lying in state in Parliament ahead of the funeral next Monday.
The first members of the public have arrived to see Queen Elizabeth II Lying-In-State.
These people have spent two nights sleeping on the street to get to the front of the queue.
Black Rod greets mourners at the entrance to Westminster Hall. pic.twitter.com/GPMPqcZeip
— Royal Central (@RoyalCentral) September 14, 2022
Guards are in place to protect the coffin after it was marched to the hall from Buckingham Palace.
But for one the strain appeared to be overwhelming after he fainted on the spot.
There were gasps from mourners as he fell to the ground which was caught in a video.
Royal guard collapses while guarding the Queen's coffin, landing face-first on the concrete. pic.twitter.com/IwEwOiYX0K
— PoliticsJOE (@PoliticsJOE_UK) September 15, 2022
It happened as a set of guards were beginning to swap duties.
According to Mirror reports, one appeared to be trembling before seconds later falling.
Two police officers could be seen racing over to pick him up before the video cut out and then went to images of the Houses of Parliament.
Shocked viewers also took to social media with one tweeting: “He must’ve been so overwhelmed with what was happening.”
Another said: “Bless him – just happened to tune in; saw he was a bit wobbly and feared he’d faint. Hope he’s ok.”
Similar comments included: “Poor man, I hope he’s alright. It was awful to see” and “It’s such a massive responsibility during such a historical moment. I hope he’s fine.”
The Queen’s funeral is predicted to become the most watched global broadcast in history with 4.1 billion people expected to tune in to Monday’s state funeral.
The late monarch will be laid to rest at London’s Westminster Abbey, after passing away peacefully on September 8, at Balmoral.
The funeral will air on BBC One, BBC News, and BBC iPlayer, while ITV will air the event live and uninterrupted on its main channel and simultaneously on all of its digital channels. An international audience of millions is also expected to tune into the historic moment.
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