Watch as man is arrested after grabbing flag on Queen’s coffin

The man broke away from the queue of mourners in and ran towards the coffin, where he pulled at the flag.

A live feed of the event was temporarily paused as the incident, which happened on Friday evening, unfolded.

However, spectators who had been waiting for up to 12 hours to view the late Queen’s casket in the ancient hall were clear shocked by the spectacle.

One witness told how her seven-year-old niece had been pushed out of the way by the man as he rushed at the coffin.

She told the Mail: “A person decided they were going to push my seven-year-old niece out the way, run up to the coffin, lift up the standard and try to do I don’t know what. She was grabbed out the way and the police had him within two seconds.”

Metropolitan Police later confirmed the man had been arrested under the Public Order Act.

“Around 22:00 on Friday 16 September officers from the Met’s Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command detained a man in Westminster Hall following a disturbance,” they said.

A Parliament spokesperson added: “We’re aware of an incident in Westminster Hall, in which a member of the public moved out of the queue and towards the catafalque.

“They have now been removed from the hall and the queue restarted with minimal disruption.”

Earlier the same evening, the new King was joined by his siblings Princess Anne and Princes Andrew and Edward to take their turn mounting the vigil around the Queen’s coffin.

The late Queen will continue to lie in state in Westminster Hall until the morning of her funeral on Monday.