Hats off to David Beckham

[meateatingveggie]

Queued with the public for 12 hours, and wearing a shirt and tie.

Unlike others who have been ushered in as 'press' or VIPs.

Anyone understand the Qatar reference? He's been paid £50 million to front an advertising campaign to promote tourism in Qatar despite Qatar's terrible human rights record and the fact that they have still not guaranteed that gay footballs fans won't be arrested if they get tickets to the World Cup. Google it - he has received massive criticism (especially as he has previously been someone who has been pro gay rights - bigging up footballers who have come out as gay for instance).

Here's the proof: www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-62927306

Regardless of why he did it, he queued for 12 hours when he didn't have to.

Absolutely agree.

@talknomore has posted an excellent link.

he's a class act, i don't think he had any ulterior motive, some people are just innately genuinely nice and good people.

I luffs him! And he's the same age as me so I totally get the back comment

Haha quite! I'm a right mardy cow and vent a lot on MN (especially about stupid comments) but even I can't find anything bad to said about DB just queueing up and paying his respects.
Good on him.

He did not see the Queen.

I think that the VIPs who jumped the queue missed out.

It is almost like a religious pilgrimage - where you are rewarded for your hard work in the end by emotional satisfaction. The warmth, compassion and spontaneous nee friendships of fellow queuers in a shared experience and the stunning cityscape (especially at night) of beautiful London was a reward.

Those that queued will have experienced delayed gratification which is more sustainable and authentic when then arrived tired and cold. That whole emotional experience of 12-24hrs will stay with them.

The VIPs emotional experience with their instant gratification will dissipate. They missed out.

I was just about to say, @DFOD, it's very much like a religious pilgrimage.
The catafalque is akin to a reliquary, isn't it?
By coincidence I have relatives going to visit the remains of St Bernadette when they arrive in Birmingham (there's a tour of the UK)

Er, no. Get your facts straight and learn to count before you start posting sarcastic comments. It was not 2 till 3.30. It was 2am to 3.30pm. That's thirteen and a half hours.

Yep big respect, other Celebs and MPs all jumped the queue. My MP did and is refusing to answer questions on Twitter about it.

It’s tone deaf of MPs to do this right now!

I respect DB for this, and his attitude. I thought he was very modest and reflective when interviewed.

He seems like a good person. I like him. I just feel a bit weird that it's hats off to him and not all the other people who were there. He was there because he wanted to be and so we're they.

Any publicity is good publicity as they say.

@Doona I think the "hats off" is because he had the change to avoid the queue as a "VIP" but chose not to. I do that's worth commenting on.

He's a class act isn't he by Jove !
A kinghood on it's way for sure now surely?
After all this time trying to get one he found a way to melt William's heart !

What a creep

Knighthood

I have always though David Beckham seemed more down to earth and ordinary than most footballers.

I think it is great that he queued for all that time even when offered the chance to jump the queue.

I know some other celebs have queued - Susannah Reid for one but the so up themselves Holly and Phil obviously thought they were too important to queue

I think the knighthood comments are absurd. He doesn’t need to stand in a queue for 13 hours to get a knighthood, he’s highly likely to get one anyway in the next few years anyway. I think people really don’t understand what standing in a queue shuffling forward at a snail’s pace for 13 hours actually entails. No one would want to do it unless it meant something to them, whether that’s being there to support a family member or friend or simply for yourself. In his interview he said he was doing it for his grandparents and I 100% believe that. It wouldn’t have had the same meaning if he’d just ducked into the VIP queue. As pp have said it’s like a religious pilgrimage.

And I’m no Beckham fan (zero interest in football, never really fancied him) but I work in media and have also never heard anything negative said about him (although I have heard many rumours about his, err, wandering eye shall we say).

Presumably because he looks old, thin and tired. I'd look tired if I'd been queuing for that long. If it made me look thinner I might have joined in!

So did I. And I think that he and VB are attacked unnecessarily. Okay, he's a bit thick, and she's a bit of a show off, but they're harmless. I used to be a trainer in professional boundaries and used to talk about power and asked the participants who uses power for good purposes (lots of people mentioned Obama, Mother Teresa, Esther Rantzen etc) then who used it for evil. I stopped asking the first time someone mentioned Victoria Beckham. I think I have a different concept of evil than other people

You do wonder how they survive in a world that also contains Putin and Kim Jong -Un or perhaps they are not so much on their radar as the artist formerly known as Posh.

A strange thing when being a former girl band member who is a bit poutily self conscious (possibly insecure IMHO) is equated with "using your power for evil".

Boris Johnson queuing today apparently. Not seen it reported though but just seem a photo on Twitter.