The public's wave of heart-felt tributes to the Queen left Prince William 'choked up' as he explained seeing Paddington among the flowers left him struggling to maintain his composure.
The Prince and Princess of Wales have thanked the unsung heroes who helped stage Monday's funeral in Windsor, telling them their "seamless" operation had made it an "extraordinary" experience.
The Prince and Princess arranged to meet dozens of those responsible for the major public operation in Berkshire, from the man who arranged the portable toilets to the people moving the flowers and organising the bin collections.
Giving their personal thanks for the 24-hour-a-day operations that ran between the late Queen's death and the end of her funeral, they said they were deeply grateful for the efforts of so many.
William says he was so touched by the public's tributes but says it was the sight of Paddington among the flowers that left him struggling to keep his composure.
"Seeing the flowers was really moving," said William. "We did have a good look. It was the depth of flowers, not just here but at Sandringham too. It was really moving.
"We tried to read as much as we could [of messages with the flowers] but some were like essays, it was incredible. The children's ones were very special to me.
"It's the things you don't expect that get you. Paddington got me quite choked up."
He went on to joke that there had become "a bit of competition" between the corgis and Paddington for which were now associated with the Queen, suggesting he would be Team Corgi if pushed to choose.
"The corgis and Paddington were in competition, at loggerheads!" he said. "Paddington is a new addition; the corgis have been there longer."
During an hour-long engagement at the Windsor Guildhall, they spent time with St John's Ambulance crew, Crown Estate staff, council workers and volunteers to hear how the logistics had worked.
They also gave a moving insight into the Royal Family's 11 days behind-the-scenes, from the Wales children spotting preparations on their school run to cherished memories of conversations with the Queen.
Saying the family had seen five rainbows above Balmoral during the time they were in Scotland after her death on September 8, the Prince said the unusual sight had left them astonished.
"In Scotland, how many rainbows turned up?" he asked the Princess. "You hardly ever see rainbows up there, but there were five."
Smiling at him, the Princess said: "Her Majesty was looking down on us."
She had remained in Windsor to support their children while the Prince flew to Balmoral, adding it had been "extraordinary weather ". "Right at the end of the day, the heavens opened," she said.
The Prince reminisced about his family's own conversations about the late Queen since she had died.
"We were saying the other day, the Queen said she had never been rained on at the Cenotaph in 70 years," he said. "So we will see what happens this year."
Returning to the preparations for the funeral, the parents-of-three spoke of how they had been marvelling at it on the school run from their new home in Windsor.
"When we've been doing the school run, we've been able to see the preparations going up. We've seen it growing," said the Princess. It must have been quite a mission.
"Having gone backwards and forwards last week, we could see it slowing growing. It seemed so well organised."
She added that Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis had been particularly "beady-eyed", asking why there were drones flying around for security.
"The children were saying it's come down so quickly," she added. "I suppose it's a lot quicker to undo it."
Asked whether the family had heard any of the 3am rehearsals for the ceremonial elements of the funeral, the Princess said: "We didn't hear it, I would have loved to though."
The Prince, careful not to specify which children, added: "Some of the children in the family woke up and they thought, are we hearing things?"
The Princess called the "footage and imagery" from the day of the funeral "extraordinary", marvelling at hoe "different generations from all walks of life" had come out for the Queen.
"It was amazing how everyone seemed to want to come," she said. "Reading some of the messages, the Queen had a personal relationship with ever one of these people.
"The messages that were left show the Queen had a special meaning to everybody."
The couple have been out to view flowers in Windsor, where they were joined by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, and Sandringham.
He and the Princess were shown a photograph of the Peruvian bear made entirely of flowers, which had been spotted in Windsor.
Of the number of real marmalade sandwiches left, the Princess joked: "The squirrels probably enjoyed it too."
The Royal Family, William said, had been "all quite worried that everyone coming here could lock the whole town down and come to a standstill", causing "disruption for everybody".
The Waleses were personally grateful that they could "still get the children to and from school", said Kate.
The couple asked repeatedly after the welfare of volunteers, saying they hoped they would now take some time off to rest.
"You guys have been doing such long hours," said the Prince.
Of all their hard work, the Prince said: "It was seamless, you could feel it.
"It couldn't have gone the way it did without your help. We really appreciate all the hard work and long hours, so thank you. It made us [the family] feel like people care. We were sharing it with everyone else, which made it less hard.
"It's been a busy week for everyone. It showed how hard people behind the scenes have been working."
The Princess added: "You can be so proud of it. It was extraordinary from the family's perspective but also for the public. All these different things like car parking and logistics. We couldn't believe how far people had come."
The couple also seemed keen to hear any behind-the-scenes gossip, asking if there had been any stories from Windsor's "ambassadors" helping members of the public out from the tourist board.
One volunteer told them they were often asked where Windsor Castle was when they were standing in front of it, with the Prince, laughing, conceding that "from certain angles, I suppose..." it might be hard to tell.
Touching on their theme of mental health, the Princess also asked one group how they are after "such long hours and so much effort".
"How are you emotionally?" she said. "It must have been physically tiring, but also emotionally, especially if you were reading all the [flower] notes?"
Her husband said: "You've all been brilliant. It was very slick. The public don't see all this hard work but we really appreciate all the hours you've put in."
