'Hero' woman elegantly drinking gin on the tube instantly becomes the internet's new Queen

An unnamed woman has gone viral on Twitter after a photo of her drinking gin on a London tube was shared thousands of times online.

The woman has a can of gin in one hand, a glass in the other and is sat on the Northern line wearing dark sunglasses and a black ensemble, reactions to her photo have been favourable, with people hailing her a “hero” for her.

Here she is:

Mark Locke, the Twitter user who snapped the photograph praised her classy look, and wrote: “To the lady drinking a pink gin and tonic *from a glass* on the Northern line, I salute you. Classy.”

The image went viral as people admired the unnamed woman in their thousands.

“Goals!” One Twitter user wrote. “Queen!” another added.

She was compared to elegant actresses, called a goddess and they said she deserved to be “revered.”

In contrast, MP Diane Abbott was forced to apologise for drinking a can of mojito on the tube back in April.

Headlines about the 65-year-old MP declared her “breaking the law” and she received intense backlash for her decision to drink a Marks and Spencer cocktail on the TfL.

Julia Hartley-Brewer also mocked Abbott, writing: “Amazingly, this is not a spoof. Very “woman of the people” choice of drink.”

Other Twitter users, including journalist Owen Jones came to the MP's defence, but it didn't change the abuse she endured.

The difference in the way the two photos have been perceived - one with celebratory gusto, the other with intense criticism- has not gone unnoticed by Twitter users.

Abbott addressed the photo and tweeted at the time: “A photo of me drinking from a can of M&S mojito on the Overground has been circulated.”

I’m sincerely sorry for drinking on TFL.

BBC host Andrew Neil mocked the Labour frontbencher, and said: “Yes, the former regular resident of the This Week sofa was caught sipping a lunchtime cocktail from a tinny on London transport for Easter.

“She has clearly come a long way since necking warm Blue Nun out of a plastic cup.”

Spoilsports were quick to point out that alcohol is forbidden on the capital’s rail network.

And this isn't the first time this sort of thing has happened. People also pointed out the difference in reactions to Abbott drinking a legal substance on a train, to prime minister hopeful Michael Gove's admission of taking cocaine, a class A drug in the past:

TfL has an alcohol ban on public transport, and customers are prohibited from drinking or carrying open containers of alcohol on the London Underground, buses, Docklands Light Railway, tram services and London Overground.

More: Michael Gove tried to use a bizarre kitchen analogy to justify a Brexit delay and it backfired spectacularly

More: Turning Point UK video mocking socialists is one of the most cringe things you'll ever see