There was a good turn out from the Royal Family, including the Queen, the Prince of Endinburgh, the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall, Prince Andrew and Prince William, as well as Tony Blair and Helen Clark.
A large screen was set up so that those of us outside the cordon could see what was happening.
Security was undertstandably tight, with much of the area sealed off.
A large Honour Guard from the New Zealand Defence Force was in attendence.
The Queen was given a traditional Maori welcome.
A fly past by 3 RAF Typhoons and a RNZAF Boeing 757 Transport Aircraft marked her arrival.
The Queen's Personal Flag for New Zealand was also raised.
Inclement weather had been predicted, so all the VIP's were well protected. Here, Helen Clark is making her speech.
Meanwhile members of the NZDF stood guard around the Memorial.
We then moved around to the far side of Hyde Park Corner and got a far better view of the proceedings! By this time though the light was fading and it was difficult to get a clear picture without camera shake.
The Queen lays her wreath and pays respect.
As the Last Post was sounded, the flags of New Zealand and the Unietd Kingdom were lowered to half mast. Note that the Queen's Personal Flag remains raised to indicate the continuity of the monarch - not even on the death of a King or Queen is the Personal Flag lowered as they are immediately succeeded.
The ceremony was then concluded with the Maori performing a modified version the the Hakka, which was warmly received.
The Queen spent a lot of time speaking with everyone afterwards before leaving.
As it was cold we left to go and warm up in Harrods, doing some Christmas shopping at the same time. They announced that people would be allowed in to take a look, but by the time we got back later it had been closed off again.
A very memorable day and we were glad to be there for an important day in New Zealands history.
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