Putin ally ‘poses for selfie’ next to Queen’s coffin
Photography is banned inside Westminster Hall where the Queen is lying in state but that didn’t stop one world leader.
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Armenia's president is under fire after he ‘posed for selfies’ in front of the Queen Elizabeth’s coffin.
President Vahagn Khachaturyan, an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, was photographed by an aide at the foot of the late monarch’s flag-draped coffin.
This was despite a ban on photographs inside Westminster Hall where the Queen is lying in state.
Footage shows the leader being led into the 1000-year-old building with his entourage just before 8am local time and taken to the VIP walkway overlooking the monarch's coffin, The Sun reports.
Moments later he stops at the foot of the flag-draped coffin.
As he bows his assistant take a photo with his mobile phone. And that has angered Brits.
“It was very, very disrespectful. Totally unforgivable in my book. He should be ashamed of himself,” Janet Taylor, 76, from Kent told The Sun.
Andrew Kerslake, 52, told the publication: “It’s just dreadful. He was yapping away on the viewing platform, laughing and showing no respect.”
MAN CHARGED WITH ATTEMPTED MURDER
A man was charged with attempted murder on Saturday following the stabbings of two police officers in central London, Scotland Yard said.
Mohammed Rahman, 24, from west London, has been charged with attempted murder of a male constable; and with causing grievous bodily harm with intent to a female constable following Friday’s stabbings in Leicester Square, London police headquarters said.
Rahman was also charged with assault and two counts of threatening a person in a public place with a bladed article, charges relating to three other constables.
He was also charged with robbery and possession of a bladed article. Rahman will appear in court in southwest London Monday.
Police said Friday that the stabbings in the Leicester Square entertainment district were not being treated as terror-related.
London’s police are deploying the greatest number of officers in their history for funeral of Queen Elizabeth II on Monday, with world leaders flying in from across the globe to pay their last respects to the country’s longest-serving monarch.
WATCH: Police tackle man who tried to rush towards Queen Elizabeth's coffin pic.twitter.com/ipuauYbOpA
— BNO News (@BNONews) September 17, 2022
MAN CHARGED AT QUEEN’S COFFIN
The news came just hours after police have charged another man with a public order offence after a mourner lunged at the Queen’s coffin as it laid in state at Westminster Hall.
Muhammad Khan, 28, of Barleycorn Way, Tower Hamlets, was arrested in Westminster Hall
after being tackled to the ground on Friday and charged on Saturday under Section 4A of the Public Order Act for behaviour intending to cause alarm, harassment or distress.
The shocking incident unfolded around 10am local time at Westminster Hall hours after the Queen’s children held a vigil in the monarch’s honour.
Onlookers were stunned as police quickly arrested Khan.
A police spokesperson said: “At 10am on Friday 16 September officers from the Met’s Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command detained a man in Westminster Hall following a disturbance.
Eyewitnesses reported seeing a man behaving “strangely” in the queue on Friday night UK time.
He pushed through the queue, knocking aside a seven-year-old girl and then touched the Queen’s coffin, even managing to lift the Royal Standard in which it is draped.
QUEEN’S CHILDREN KEEP VIGIL
King Charles III led the final vigil for the Queen ahead of her funeral, with Prince Andrew in full military uniform for the first time during the mourning period.
Crowds waited patiently in Westminster for the arrival of King Charles III and his siblings — Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward — all dressed in full military uniform.
The Vigil is a century-old tradition which sees the family members of a monarch “keep guard” over their coffin.
The Queen’s four children stood with their heads bowed for 12 minutes as other members of the royal family including Queen Consort Camilla watched on.
It’s the second time the Queen’s four children have taken part in a vigil for their late mother, after a similar service at St Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh earlier this week.
While King Charles wore a kilt, and Prince Andrew a suit, to the vigil in Scotland, the brothers donned the military dress for their last vigil before the final farewell at the funeral on Monday.
Prince Andrew was granted a special dispensation to wear his uniform despite being a non-working royal.
Prince Harry will also be allowed to wear his military uniform at a similar vigil for the Queen’s grand children after the King reportedly overturned the ban with a “special request”.
Prince William will lead the vigil for the grandchildren, reuniting with his brother and their cousins.
It’s a short trip to where the Queen is lying-in-state — just under two kilometres — and the entire route is lined by members of the public, who have cheered as King Charles passed by.
He was joined by his wife, Camilla, the Queen Consort, along with his three siblings on their way to the vigil.
The poignant Vigil of the Princes service runs for 15 minutes, with members of the public paused while it takes place.
British MPs and dignitaries, all dressed in black, are positioned on a podium on the right hand side of the building for the Vigil.
Following the Vigil, a visibly emotional King Charles led Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward from the catafalque and out of the Hall.
On Saturday night, at the same time, the Vigil will be repeated with the Queen’s eight grandchildren standing guard over her coffin.
Originally published as Putin ally ‘poses for selfie’ next to Queen’s coffin
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