Cambridgeshire Police officer who represented force at Queen's funeral reflects on 'proudest moment'

A Cambridgeshire Police officer who represented the force at the Queen's funeral has called it the "proudest moment" of his career.

Inspector Matt Snow joined other officers from all around the country, as well as overseas territories such as the Falkland Islands and British Virgin Islands, along the procession route for Monday's historic event.

Mr Snow arrived at Lambeth Headquarters at 4.30am to meet the other officers, before taking up his posting near Buckingham Palace.

Although he was there in a working capacity, Mr Snow said that being able to get a front row view of the procession was a moment that he'll remember forever.

• Watch an extended interview with Inspector Matt Snow

"It was just an incredible experience to be part of," he told ITV News Anglia.

"It was quite a strange crowd in that it wasn't particularly sombre as such, but just really respectful. It was a celebration of the queen's life - that's how I would describe it."

Mr Snow, who has worked for Cambridgeshire Police for 25 years, managed to meet the Queen once during a visit to Cambridge in 2019.

He revealed to ITV News Anglia that he only had a time for a "30 second chat" with her, which at the time was the highlight of his career.

However, he said that being part of Monday's event had eclipsed even that.

"Yesterday, was definitely the highlight of my career," he said.

"It was an incredible day. I was just really honoured to represent Cambridgeshire Constabulary."

The Queen's funeral was the UK's biggest ever police operation, with more than 10,000 officers from every force in the country being deployed to London.

Essex Police officers played a particularly key role in overseeing the arrival of around 30 heads of state at Stansted Airport, with American president Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau among the high-profile guests.

"It's a generational moment for policing and the UK will not see a larger policing operation than this," Assistant Chief Constable Glen Pavelin said.

"Certainly for us in Essex, the movements we had through Stansted were absolutely huge. We were involved in all facets of delivery alongside colleagues from across the UK and it was a great privilege.''

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