Mr Edwards had over 6,000 pictures of the royal family

He said his private audience with her was the "highlight of his life".

Mr Edwards was among an estimated 250,000 mourners who queued to see the coffin lying in state at Westminster Hall.

Hundreds of other mourners from across Wales also took part in the event, which began with a procession led by the Welsh Cavalry.

Mr Edwards is just one of thousands of mourners gather in London to see the huge procession from Buckingham Palace taking the Queen Mother's coffin to its lying-in-state.

The hearse carrying the coffin was followed by more than a dozen senior members of the Royal Family, including Prince Charles, Prince Andrew and the Princess Royal.

Thousands travelled to London for the procession

Mr Edwards has chronicled his frequent visits to see the Queen Mother in a collection of more than 6,000 photographs.

He showed the Queen Mother round an exhibition of his work when she visited him in person.

Mr Edwards made his last pilgrimage to Clarence House, the Queen Mother's official residence, for her birthday last August.

He regularly made the round trip to Clarence House each August to camp out overnight to get a glimpse of her.

Mr Edwards added that he was sad his pilgrimage to Westminster Hall would be his last trip to see the Queen Mother.