Today New Zealand, the UK and other realm countries said farewell to their monarch Queen Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor.
The queen had the rare honour of a UK state funeral at Westminster Abbey, where her father George VI was crowned, she was married and later also crowned. The last Briton to have a state funeral was Sir Winston Church in the 1960s.
A small group of New Zealanders were there to bid her farewell.
One, a long-time resident of London, Esther Jessop (Ngāti Rānana) said she was contacted by the New Zealand High Commission informing her that she had been selected to represent the people of New Zealand.
“You could imagine my reaction.”
The streets of London were lined with well-wishers as they watched the Queen’s entourage leave Buckingham Palace for Westminister Abbey and later to Windsor Castle, hoping to capture a glimpse of the Queen's casket.
The entourage was met at Windsor Castle where a committal service took place and the queen was laid to rest in the St George Chapel royal vault alongside her husband the Duke of Edinburgh.