Queen's funeral: Veterans' reunion after 21 years apart to say goodbye

After not seeing each other for 21 years two veterans stood side by side as they paid their final tribute to the Queen.

Gareth Jones, from Swansea, and Dave Cartwright, from Exeter, arranged to meet in London to watch their commander-in-chief's coffin pass by.

The pair had waited hours near the Cenotaph, after missing attending the lying-in-state by just five minutes.

Mr Jones said: "We had to come to Whitehall to say goodbye to the Boss."

They served in the Royal Army Medical Corps in Afghanistan, and last saw each other 21 years ago.

• Welsh mourners pay their respects

Mr Cartwright was seriously injured by an explosion in 2010 and met the Queen six years later at Windsor Castle.

He said: "When she spoke to you it was like no one else mattered".

"She was small in stature - it was like talking to your granny - but she had this huge presence. We'll miss her so much."

The pair joined thousands of people who lined the streets in London, with some people from Wales sleeping on the streets as they waited to pay their respects.

Others came together closer to home, gathering in houses, churches, cinemas and community centres.

The funeral was shown on cinema screens at Theatr Colwyn in Colwyn Bay, and the Magic Lantern in Tywyn, with venues in Swansea, Merthyr Tydfil, Cardiff, Cwmbran, Carmarthen and Rhyl also showing the event.

Mourners gathered at churches including St Michael's in Aberystwyth, and St John the Evangelist's in Canton, Cardiff, while Penparcau community hub in Ceredigion also opened for older people to come together to watch the funeral.

'We shared that mutual respect'

Speaking after the funeral, Mr Jones said: "We are the only country that could pull off a ceremony as big as today was.

"She was our boss and in the crowds there were veterans stood everywhere, and we just gave a nod to each other. We had never met each other, but we shared that mutual respect.

"It was the only place to be today, it was the only place I wanted to be."