Mr Ogunwusi was in line to become king of the Oduduwa kingdom

Olusola Ogunwusi, said her 42-year-old husband had phoned her at 1245 BST on Friday to tell her he was on his way to Kings Cross.

The newly-qualified solicitor, who was in line to become a Nigerian king, was due to meet a client.

Sorely missed

Mrs Ogunwusi, 40, who met her husband 15 years ago, said: "I did not know that would be the end of it.

"Then it was on the news that there was a train crash."

"No one in their right mind would think that he would not come back again."

"He was always showing his affection openly to everybody."

Mrs Ogunwusi said her children, the oldest of which is aged 13, were still expecting their father to come home to Upper Tulse Hill, south London.

Alex was a family man larger than life

Friend Dr Philip Abiola

"I do not know how his children will cope without him," she added.

"His children were his priority. He wanted them to have a good life.

"We all miss him terribly."

But Mrs Ogunwusi said she would cherish her good memories of her husband, who qualified as a solicitor two months ago.

She continued: "We do not want this to happen again because there is no way you can explain how I am feeling now."

Mr Ogunwusi's lifelong friend Dr Philip Abiola said he had been in line to become king of the Oduduwa kingdom in Ila-Ifa, in Nigeria.

Caring father

Surrounded by relatives of Mr Ogunwusi, who moved to Britain in the 1980s, said: "We mourn the death of a loving husband, a caring father, a worthy relative, a diligent colleague and a trusted friend.

"Alex was a family man larger than life to his immediate family and the loss to him is immeasurable.

"To them, Alex meant everything and to his colleagues he was a tireless and hardworking gentleman".

He said Mr Ogunwusi's "beloved people of Ila-Ifa" would especially miss him.

Dr Abiola: Mourning the loss of a trusted friend

He said his friend's full name was Prince Alexander Adetunji Mubo Ogunwusi and he was a potential future king of a race that boasts 150 million people worldwide.

"There is no doubt that Alex was a king. He behaved as one. He lived as one."

Survivors

Ten survivors of rail crash are still being treated in hospital.

Hong Kong based news anchor woman Hai Jui-Liu, from Taiwan, is fighting for her life at the Royal Free Hospital, Hampstead.

At the same hospital dance student Fabrizio Dias Amanajas, 20, is being treated for multiple fractures.

At Barnet General one woman is in a stable condition in intensive care while another is stable but on a high dependency ward.

Jenny Cox, a 27-year-old nurse from Brisbane, Danny Cooney, a 21-year-old student from Cambridgeshire and author Nina Bawden are on a general ward there.

At Chase Farm Hospital, a 29-year-old woman remains in a stable condition.

A woman in her twenties is comfortable at the QEII Hospital in Welwyn Garden City, as is Clive Keep, 51.