Prince William admits walking behind Queen's coffin brought back painful memories

Prince William has revealed that walking behind the Queen's coffin brought back memories of when he followed his mother's, Princess Diana's.

The heir to the throne, 40, made the comments as he viewed floral tributes to his late grandmother outside Sandringham with the new Princess of Wales, Kate Middleton.

The news was revealed by the royal editor of the Sunday Times on Twitter, who wrote: "The Prince of Wales has said walking in the #Queen's cortège yesterday brought back memories of walking behind his mother's coffin for Diana's funeral procession in 1997 when William was 15."

Prince William made the journey, as he did in 1997, alongside his brother Prince Harry and King Charles III as the Queen's coffin made its way from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall.

The Queen's coffin is covered with the Royal Standard and the state crown as well as a poignant wreath of flowers.

This included white roses, spray white roses, white dahlias and foliage – with pine taken from Balmoral and rosemary from Windsor.

Her coffin was transported on a Gun Carriage of The King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery, which was also used to carry her parents.

The carriage was used in both the First and Second World Wars, and it contains six 13-pounder quickfire guns.

However, the Gun Carriages don't just make appearances at funerals, and they are also used at state occasions as well as for gun salutes, such as the recent ones in Hyde Park.

The Queen's journey to Westminster Hall was marked by Big Ben, which tolled at one minute intervals as the coffin was transported through the streets of London.

As well as Big Ben alerting people to the procession, Minute Guns were also fired every 38 minutes from Hyde Park.

The Queen's remains will now lie in state at Westminster Hall for three days before her state funeral on Monday, 19 September.

Queen Elizabeth passed away a week ago today (September 8) at Balmoral in Scotland.

After her death, Operation Unicorn went into effect, which saw her remains transported from Balmoral to Edinburgh.

She went on to lie in state in St Giles' Cathedral on the Royal Mile before being flown to London on Tuesday (13 September), at which point, Operation London Bridge began.

King Charles paid tribute to his late mother in his first speech as king, stating: "Queen Elizabeth's was a life well-lived; a promise with destiny kept and she is mourned most deeply in her passing. That promise of lifelong service I renew to you all today."