On eBay, wristbands for Queen's lying-in-state draw bids up to £70,000, removed from site

Queen Elizabeth: For five days, crowds lined up outside Westminster Hall to pay respects to her. (Representational image)

Dozens of  wristbands issued for access to Westminster Hall, where Queen Elizabeth lay in state, appeared for sale on the eBay website. Some of them were drawing bids as high as £70,000, The Guardian reported.

The listings were removed from the website, with eBay saying they violated its policies. "Most event tickets such as concert, festival, sports, theatre and comedy tickets can't be listed on eBay," eBay's policy states.

One of listings advertised a wristband that was from the same 12-hour queue in which star footballer David Beckham waited to pay his respects to the Queen.

Another listing came with a price tag of £10,000, the BBC reported. Two more were priced at £75 and £40.

Queen Elizabeth's coffin was brought to Westminster Hall in London on September 14, nearly a week after her death in Scotland. There, it was kept in Lying-in-State till the morning of September 19 -- the day of her state funeral.

Huge crowds of mourners camped outside the venue for as long as 48 hours in advance to be able to view the Queen's coffin. Lines to enter Westminster Hall stretched as far as 10 kilometres.

To manage crowds, UK's Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) had issued non-transferrable wristbands with different colours for different days.

"You must keep this wristband on at all times as it will be checked along the route," the people were told an advisory. "Your wristband also allows you to leave the queue for a short period to use a toilet or get refreshments, then return to your place in the queue." mo