Jeff Edwards broke down in tears as he remembered the day more than 100 of his classmates died, right next to him.
He was eight years-old when a coal tip collapsed on his school in the small Welsh village of Aberfan.
Mr Edwards said he was buried for several hours, before being the last person pulled alive from the rubble.
"I remember there were shouts and screams, and those shouts and screams got less and less as time went by," he told the ABC.
"I had a dead girl on my shoulder and the reason I survived was that I had a pocket of air around me so I was able to breath."
It was at 9:15am, just after school had started, when heavy rain caused a colliery spoil tip to collapse, sending 110,000 cubic metres of slurry down a mountain slope and into Aberfan on October 21, 1966.
The disaster claimed 144 lives.
Pantglas Junior School was swallowed up in the avalanche, killing 116 children.
The nightmares of the disaster still haunt Mr Edwards, but he said much of the trauma had been healed through a "close friendship" with Queen Elizabeth II.
Her Majesty visited the site eight-days after the disaster, meeting with community members and bereaved parents.
The disaster was dramatised in an episode of the hit television series,The Crown which explored the backlash the Queen felt from the delayed visit.
It was widely reported that her late reaction to the disaster was one of the biggest regrets of her reign.
Saved by his blond hair
An iconic black and white photo taken on the day showed Jeff, with light blond hair, being carried in a blanket by local grocer Tom Harding.
"The reason the rescuers picked me out in the rubble was that I had white hair at the time, and they started to dig me out," Mr Edwards said.
"And that's something that the Queen remembered as well, because when I was introduced to her once she said to me, oh you're the young lad with the white hair that was rescued.
"And I thought that rather sweet of her, given the number of people she met all over the world."
While the timing of the Queen's trip attracted some criticism, Mr Edwards said he felt nothing but gratitude for the monarch.
He said at one point, the Queen had to go into a local house to compose herself, after being so upset by the scene.
"I think it must have had a real effect on the Queen because her continued affinity with the village continued right up to the time that she died," he said.
"And the compassion she showed the bereaved parents and the rescuers really developed that bond of heart and mind with the Queen."
The Queen's bond with Aberfan continued throughout her reign.
She made multiple visits to the community, opening a school, community hall, and planting a memorial tree for the children of Aberfan.
The Queen also maintained regular contact with bereaved parents and surviving children, including Mr Edwards, who was invited to Buckingham Palace several times.
"I actually cried when the announcement [of her death] was made, because she was such a lovely lady," he said.
"She was very dedicated to this community, she showed great interest in this community and that won't be forgotten by the people who live here."
"I considered her to be a friend, because I'd met her on so many occasions, and she was really interested in this community throughout the whole of her reign.
"And it was like losing a very close friend."
Not all happy with royal visit
But while the Queen captured the "hearts and minds" of many people in Wales, there is a growing movement to change the monarchy's position in the country.
During the first visit by the new King Charles on Friday, protesters held signs that said, "not my Prince" and "end the Prince of Wales".
The title that was held by Charles for more than 60 years, was passed to his son, Prince William, shortly after the Queen's death.
Miriam Jones was in the crowd to see the new King arrive in Cardiff and said the Prince of Wales title was an outdated symbol of English dominance over Wales, and it should be scrapped.
"For me it's about coming down and opposing what's being thrust upon us," she told the ABC.
"When England conquered us, they took our Prince away from us, and presented us with their own version of a Prince.
"The new Prince of Wales, William, has been announced without anyone in Wales having any consultation about it and he's not Welsh.
"And I'm opposed to that. He's not my Prince."
The First Minister of Wales, Mark Drakeford, acknowledged there was an active debate surrounding the Prince of Wales title, but said now was not the time for it.
