As I emerged from the Tube just moments after arriving in London a cavalcade of blacked-out cars, escorted by police vehicles and motorbikes with their blue lights shining and horns blaring, raced past. There were murmurs among the crowd, stopped by police on the pavement, that it was Joe Biden but no-one could be completely sure.
It is a spectacle that set the scene for the next 24 hours. When you are visiting a city that is hosting heads of state, prime ministers, emperors, and presidents from nearly every country of the world on the eve of the Queen's state funeral it really shouldn't have come as such a surprise. The security is so intense, boosted by staff from police forces across the UK, you quickly get used to turning a corner to find a street closed off, a line of soldiers marching past, or first-aiders cycling in formation.
Everyone has a view on the monarchy – some think there is no future for it, others have anger at how much has been spent in the past 10 days – but what you cannot deny is that we have been witnessing history in the making over the past 24 hours. More than a million people reportedly came to the centre of London to view it for themselves.
Some camped overnight while others were not so brave and savoured the atmosphere as late as they could on the packed streets before returning again early the next morning. On a Tube journey families who were strangers to each other bonded over stories of how long they waited in the queue to see the Queen's lying in state and on the stroke of 8pm on Sunday night the thousands of people who had gathered under Big Ben fell silent. Not a sound could be heard until a massive cheer went up marking when a minute was up. You can read more about that here.
So to experience it for myself and then to be part of the 2,000 congregation in Westminster Abbey was a real honour and an experience that will never be forgotten. WalesOnline were invited by the team at Buckingham Palace to have a representative present in the Abbey alongside journalists from the four nations of the UK and abroad. Sitting beside me was a journalist who had been sent on a plane from Canada the night it was announced the head of the Commonwealth had died and behind me were a delegation from St Lucia.
Our invitation came late on Friday, so there was not much time to get everything together, but what you quickly learn is that Buckingham Palace team are an extremely organised operation. Instructions were given about how to collect tickets from the palace and there was a strict warning about arriving in the area of accreditation by 8am on the morning of the funeral. Anyone who arrived late would not be allowed in. Giving nearly two hours to get there worked out well because so many streets were closed, Tube stations weren't open, and everyone you asked for directions sent you in a different way.
The gates to the meeting gardens behind the abbey and close to the Parliament buildings actually opened early but there was still time to mix with dignitaries from the Isle of Man, people from Northern Ireland who had received honours and, in a reminder that it is a small world after all, Di Clements from Pembrokeshire who had been invited to represent the Welsh National Parks. "I got the invite last week and was worried I couldn't take the time away from work but everyone said I had to go because it is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see the final farewell to an incredible woman," she said.
After IDs were checked it was time to go through airport-style security and straight into the seats in the abbey nearly three hours before the service began. We were not first in as the seats slowly but surely filled up. On every seat were two orders of service setting out the military timing for what would be happening and when.
Arriving in the abbey you get a real sense of how the church shaped the Queen's life. It was where she married, where her coronation was held in 1953, and it was there, finally, where her state funeral was held. It was said that she had been planning her funeral for several years and elements of the service had been chosen by her. You can read more about the personal touches here.
Despite the solemnity of the event there was a buzz as the heads of state, heads of government, and former Prime Ministers arrived. Without the help of Huw Edwards it was difficult to identify all the 200 to 250 leaders and their spouses who had been bussed to the abbey from the Royal Hospital Chelsea to prevent a snarl-up of official cars outside.
Other more high-profile politicians, were easier to spot. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau arrived with fellow Commonwealth premiers including Jacinda Ardern of New Zealand and Australia's Anthony Albanese.
Among those crowding onto the coaches were French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte, who walked very close to our row from the door behind us, and Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, now Europe's longest-reigning monarch. One leader allowed his own transport was US President Joe Biden who arrived at the abbey in the presidential limousine, dubbed The Beast, with his wife Jill.
There was no snarling up inside either. The event was so meticulously organised that everyone was seated in the right seats right on time. That is all 2,000 members of the congregation.
When one man had a tickly cough a member of the abbey team appeared at his side with a bottle of water to help. Every eventuality had been catered for.
Then from the outside came the slow beat of a drum, the marching of feet – a signal that the gun carriage carrying the Queen's coffin was on its way. High above Big Ben bell tolled announcing that the funeral procession was close. The buzz quickly dropped to a hushed silence as the Queen's coffin was brought into the abbey with her coffin placed at the front.
What followed was a fitting service for a Queen who had led the country for more than 70 years. The sound of the Choir of Westminster singing during the procession of the coffin was extremely moving, the hymns were uplifting, and the sermon fitting as the Queen's "lifelong sense of duty" was remembered.
Young Prince George and Princess Charlotte were impeccably behaved. The Queen's great-grandson and now second in line to the throne wore a dark blue suit and black tie and walked alongside their father, Prince William, while his younger sister wore a black dress and wide-brimmed hat and walked alongside their mother, Catherine.
As the abbey service came towards its end the Last Post was played by the same musicians who performed it at the Duke of Edinburgh's funeral before the nation came to a standstill for two minutes' silence. Then it was time for the Queen's piper, warrant officer Paul Burns, to pipe the coffin to the sounds of Sleep, Dearie, Sleep.
Since the Queen died there has been lots of talk about collective grief but at the funeral in the abbey it was also a service that was about collective thanksgiving and a collective celebration of a life dedicated to those of others.
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