A WEST Cumbrian man who was in London to witness the Queen on her final journey has recounted his tale of being part of the historic moment. 

Ben Nicholson, 29, from Workington was in the capital with his partner for a business conference, but said they decided to go and see the Queen returning to Buckingham Palace for the final time 'as soon as' they arrived in London.

Ben, who is the venue and events supervisor at the Carnegie Theatre said: "Once we arrived at the palace the atmosphere was something I’ve never seen before.

"The crowd was very large and relatively quiet with a mix of young and old and all nationalities present.

"We got ourselves as close as possible to the railings as we could and awaited the Queen's arrival in the rain.

"The palace was lit up in a way that could only be described as poignant with the new Kings Standard flying above.

"We were focused on the two news helicopters that were approaching and the crowd around us grew quieter and in the distance we heard cheering getting closer and closer and as the hearse rounded the Queen Victoria monument and came into view the crowd around us started to clap and cheer as the Queen passed by us and into the gates of the palace.

"We both bowed our heads in respect and looked to the sky as just as the Queen rounded the corner the rain seemed to stop for two or so minutes as she entered the palace for the last time.

"It was a very strange and moving experience."

After attending the business conference they had gone to the capital for the following day, Ben and his partner decided to go and see the Queen lying in state at Westminter Hall.

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The pair queued from 9:30pm on Wednesday evening, eventually making it to the hall just after 6am on Thursday morning, although the wait was long Ben was in awe of the way people came together, singing songs throughout the evening to boost each other's spirits.

Ben said: "As we entered the hall and turned the corner we seen Her Majesty’s coffin surrounded by her guards and a mix of many feelings came over me as we filed down the steps and drew level with her.

"Pride, purpose, sorrow and a sense of duty to pay respect to a monarch who dedicated her full life to the nation's service.

"We both paused for a moment and bowed our heads in respect before continuing to pass through the hall.

"As we left the hall the media outlets were waiting to capture people’s feelings and emotions and there was total silence as everybody looked at each other knowing they had just been a part of history."

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