Exhausted beefeaters pictured taking a break from guarding Queen’s coffin

The beefeaters, or Yeoman Warders, have been snapped taking a break during their six-hour long shifts guarding the Queen's coffin.

The behind-the-scenes pictures a group of the Royal Guards taking some rest during one of their 20-minute breaks on shift.

The guards in question were responsible for looking after the Queen's coffin during her lying state at Westminster Hall.

With a tight 24-hour schedule, the beefeaters - a vocation that dates right back to 1485 under the reign of Henry VII - are also joined by Gentlemen at Arms and the Royal Company of Archers to stand guard.

One Royal Guard even fainted during service last week (15 September) due to the 'brutal' schedule in which they are expected to be 'standing perfectly still for hours on end'.

Taking to Twitter, the Ministry of Defence shared photos of the beefeaters to 'honour' their service to the Queen.

The post was captioned: "The UK Armed Forces are continuing to honour their Commander-in-Chief of 70 years, Her Majesty The Queen, as they stand vigil alongside The King's Body Guard."

The post has since wracked up over 6.4k likes, nearly one-thousand retweets and dozens of comments.

One Twitter user commended the work enacted by the ceremonial guardians: "Thank you for your service. We have been thinking about you."

A second chimed in with: "Amazing experience made possible by these amazing people. Thanks for making it possible for me to say farewell to my beloved Queen."

Upon hearing the news, hundreds more rushed to share their support for the beefeaters.

One Facebook user wrote: "Respect to each of you, country will be very proud of your service to Queen and Country! Take my hat off to you all, such wonderful people and the respect you have to the Queen and Country [is] unbelievable."

Supporting the workers' right to rest, another took the opportunity to pay the ceremonial guards their 'highest respect'.

They posted: "Everyone involved in guarding the late Queen's casket deserves the highest respect for the excellent job they're doing... I don't think this photograph is particularly necessary, we all know the rest periods that are necessary."

A third echoed: "You're all doing an amazing job, to everyone involved you have done the Queen and the Country proud. Enjoy those breaks lads and drink plenty."

The Queen's funeral is set to take place in Westminster Abbey at 11am today (19 September).