Unknown Guard Causes Chaos At The Queen's Coffin After Collapsing
Was it overwhelming grief, or just a lack of food and water and maybe sleep? At time of writing, we don't know exactly why a guard fainted at the podium while standing guard at the Queen's coffin in Westminster Hall, but the fail reel-worthy moment sure created a stir.
As the Daily Mail and Newsweek report, the guard was holding vigil over the long-serving monarch's coffin on Thursday around midnight when the shocking scene unfolded, prompting the live feed of the visitation, which has attracted an unprecedented amount of people to line up — 11,000 as of today — to halt as police helped the guard. The man had taken leave of his post a few times just prior to going down and was even observed swaying in place.
A man standing guard of Queen Elizabeth II's coffin at Westminster Hall suddenly fainted on Wednesday. No word yet on his condition. https://t.co/zXDdGJlWBE pic.twitter.com/1AjnX6DcRg
— CBS News (@CBSNews) September 15, 2022
In a statement, a House of Lords representative confirmed, "A member of the vigil was temporarily taken unwell and had to withdraw from the vigil." We don't know how long the individual had been standing at his post, but the Queen's coffin is guarded 24 hours a day.
According to Newsweek, each shift is 6 hours long, with rotations onto the platform being made every 20 minutes.
An update revealed the guard recovered not long after the headline-making incident.