A man has been charged with a public order offence after he allegedly attempted to grab the Queen’s coffin.
Muhammad Khan, 28, from east London, was charged on Saturday under the Public Order Act for “behaviour intending to cause alarm, harassment or distress,” The UK Guardian reports.
There were reports of a “disturbance” on Friday night in Westminster Hall, where the Queen was lying in state, and that someone was seen running up the steps to the catafalque (a pall-covered coffin-shaped structure used at requiem masses celebrated after burial) and touching the coffin.
The Metropolitan police were said to have rushed to detain the man just before 10pm on Friday, the second full day on which mourners were able to pay their respects to the former monarch.
This was some hours after senior royals held a vigil.
In a statement, the police said a man had been charged with an offence under the Public Order Act.
At the time of the incident, broadcasters showing the procession of mourners cut away from the scene and instead showed the view from outside parliament.
Khan will appear in custody at Westminster magistrates court on Monday.
