Late Queen's right-hand woman almost scuppered touching funeral moment but eventually caved

It was almost two years ago that the world said its final goodbyes to the late Queen following her sad death.

And one of the most touching moments that brought a tear to many mourners' eyes came as her coffin made its journey in a sombre procession up the Long Walk to Windsor Castle before she was laid to rest. As the late Elizabeth II was brought back to her beloved home one last time, waiting to greet her to pay their final respects were her stud groom Terry Pendry and her favourite horse, Emma.

Many were left in tears as the horse, which the late Queen had been fond of riding, appeared to bow her head with the former monarch's beloved Hermes head scarf she wore for riding draped over the saddle.

READ MORE: Queen Elizabeth's groom made heartbreaking vow about burying royal's beloved horse

And now Mr Pendry has revealed how that much-remembered moment from her funeral came about - and how one detail was almost scuppered by the late Queen's former right-hand woman Angela Kelly. Speaking on the latest episode of the Gyles Brandreth podcast Rosebud, Mr Pendry revealed how he and wife Sue had been invited to the Queen's committal service at St George's Chapel in Windsor following her state funeral at Westminster Abbey.

However, Mr Pendry wanted to pay a special tribute to the former Queen and hatched a plan to take Emma to the Long Walk to say her final goodbye. But when it came to obtaining her riding scarf, he ran into difficulty.

He explained: "As regards Emma and myself, I didn't dare tell anybody because maybe they'd have tried to stop me doing it. I wasn't going to have any of that." He continued: "So I took it upon myself, I went to Angela Kelly and I said, 'I need one of the Queen's scarves'. She didn't want me to have it. She said: 'Well no, you can't, you mustn't'.

"I said 'I'm going to and I will. You have to give me one of her headscarves, I need to pay my last respects with Emma'. Anyway, she caved in and she gave me the Hermes scarf that was one of her [the Queen's] favourites."

He also revealed how after Emma said her final goodbye, he had to race her back to be handed over to another groom so he could make it to St George's Chapel for the service in time. Like Mr Pendry, Ms Kelly was another of the late Queen's most trusted members of staff, who struck up an unlikely yet close and cosy bond with the former monarch.

But in a swift change of fortune since her death, she has left her grace-and-favour Windsor home and has reportedly been banned from spilling any more royal secrets by her friend's oldest son King Charles. The 66-year-old, who had "extraordinary permission" to release two books about life behind the Buckingham Palace walls, enjoyed such a special bond with Elizabeth II that the late Queen even once reportedly remarked, "we could be sisters".

It was believed she was going to be allowed to stay at her grace-and-favour home in Windsor, however, last year, she appeared to confirm this was not the case and moved north to be close to her family.

Reports then suggest that her new home has actually been arranged for her by the King and will revert to the Crown upon her death. However it has been claimed that the King has banned Ms Kelly from sharing royal secrets in exchange for her new place.