Queen's funeral parade 'will live with me for a long time'

Sergeant Major Andrew "Vern" Stokes was in charge of military and ceremonial aspects of the funeral

A soldier in charge of all military and ceremonial aspects of the Queen's state funeral said it had been a surreal but incredible experience.

Garrison Sergeant Major Andrew "Vern" Stokes, from Coalbrookdale, in Telford, Shropshire, said he had only just started reflecting on the events.

The preparations and state event itself had left him exhausted, he said.

"But it's something that will live with me for a long time."

GSM Stokes, of the Coldstream Guards, was responsible for the procession that involved 4,000 military personnel in London and a further 1,000 in Windsor.

Television cameras and photographers captured his lone figure inspecting The Mall ahead of the procession.

"I always walk the route and make sure that the flags are hanging properly, the barriers are in the right place, the medics are in the right place, the police are where they can support us," he said.

"It's not normally captured on television so to hear that it had been captured was unbelievable," he added.

The senior soldier will be involved in the King's Coronation

Images of the soldier inspecting The Mall were captured by photographers and television cameras

He said he was one of a handful of soldiers that had been on duty in London and Windsor and had been invited to take part in the Castle service.

"I had the opportunity to reflect in St George's Chapel whilst the funeral service was going on and it was a really sad moment but it was an incredibly proud moment, because 99% of everything we did went really well and I think that we gave Her Majesty a fitting send off."

Eleven days of preparations were opportunities to rehearse and brief everybody, he explained, so the day of the funeral was the "culmination of an extremely long two weeks".

Preparations for the King's Coronation are set to start soon, he said.

"I'll certainly be involved. I just don't know when it will be or what it looks like at the moment. I suspect that comes next week we'll have a better idea."

Before that, his next challenge is to run the London Marathon, raising funds for the Tickets for Troops charity.

His next challenge is to run the London Marathon

The finishing line on The Mall was his home territory, the soldier said.

"But even walking there [earlier this week] it was hard to believe that 48 hours before we'd marched that route with Her Majesty's coffin, so there will be a whole raft of emotions.