Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and partner Clarke Gayford attend the State Funeral Service for Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, at Westminster Abbey in London on 19 September 2022. Photo: Phil Noble / Pool / AFP
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says the sheer scale of the Queen's funeral was extraordinary.
She told Morning Report the sound of the choir and trumpets echoing through the church gave it a real sense of ceremony.
Ardern said such moments reminded her that at the end of the day the Queen was a mother, a grandmother and a great-grandmother.
"Then amongst all of that there were moments that were exactly what you would expect at any funeral; moments of quiet and reflection.
"I think the fact that there were so many people there, and yet there was still, just that stillness made that even more extraordinary and more poignant."
"She was present through such change ... someone who really did forge her own path" - PM Jacinda Ardern
The Ceremonial Procession of the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II travels down the Long Walk as it arrives at Windsor Castle for the Committal Service at St George's Chapel, on September 20, 2022. Photo: Aaron Chown / POOL / AFP
Moments that would stay with her were the sound of the choir and trumpets echoing through Westminster Abbey, and the Queen's coffin departing amid a wave of heads being bowed, with her family walking quietly behind her.
En route to Windsor for the committal service "mile after mile of that journey was full of people just standing there on the side of the road waiting for a single moment to pay their personal respects to their late Majesty as her hearse moved by".
"And just the sheer number of people along that significant journey, that in itself was extraordinary."
The Queen was a reflection of a significant part of New Zealand history, Ardern said.
"She was present through such change ... someone who really did forge her own path. She was a woman in leadership who was raising a family. To see then after all those decades of service for that to end becomes something more than just the loss of an individual, but the end of an era".
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern with Tā Tipene O'Regan and Māori King, Kiingi Tūheitia (centre). Photo: Supplied / NZDF
Throughout her reign, Queen Elizabeth had many meetings with Māori leaders, visiting marae and communities across the country.
Among New Zealand's representatives at her funeral was the Māori King, Kiingi Tūheitia.
Kiingitanga chief of staff Ngira Simmonds, travelled with the Māori King to London and spoke to Morning Report on his behalf.
Simmonds said the relationship between Māori and the Crown was strengthened during the Queen's reign.
"Upon returning from the Abbey, Kiingi Tūheitia was distinctly struck by the sadness and the gravity of the occasion for the family."
Britain's King Charles III, Princess Anne, Princess Royal, Prince William, Prince of Wales, and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, stand outside Westminster Abbey after the State Funeral Service in London on September 19, 2022. Photo: Hannah McKay / POOL / AFP
He said when Kiingi Tūheitia and his wife Te Makau Ariki Atawhai Paki "looked at the Queen's children, the grandchildren, the great-grandchildren ... they really felt the overwhelming sense of sadness from a family.
"And of course, they understand the cost of duty of service to a nation, but equally their particular thoughts and feelings this morning we really for the Queen's immediate family as they gathered to farewell their mother, their grandmother and great-grandmother.
"They were moved by the entire experience at the Abbey, the singing, the praying that the gathering of people from all over the world."
"Kiingi Tūheitia was distinctly struck by the sadness and the gravity of the occasion for the family" - Kiingitanga chief of staff Ngira Simmonds
Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, Camilla, Queen Consort, Prince George of Wales, Catherine, Princess of Wales and Sophie, Countess of Wessex look at the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II as they leave Westminster Abbey in London. Photo: AFP / Pool