It was a significant day for many people — includingKing Charles— asQueen Elizabethwas honored at her state funeral on Monday.
Hsien Chew, founder ofProud Voices U.K. and Ireland, an LGBTQ choir network, tells PEOPLE that the King appeared bereaved at the funeral, which took place at Westminster Abbey in London.
“I never thought I would be moved as much as I was, but being so up close and personal to the coffin, seeing the grief on Charles' face, it really hit home,” says Chew, an MBE (The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) recipient and attendee at Monday’s service.
“The music really pulled it all together,” he tells PEOPLE. “When they performed Judith Weir’s Psalm 42, I started to cry.”
King Charles III and Prince William.Hannah McKay/WPA Pool/Getty
Chew has used his love for music to form Proud Voices, a network of LGBTQ choirs in the U.K. and Ireland. This year, he was on the Queen’s birthday honor list. After the Queen’s death, he was invited to her funeral.
“I believe the Cabinet Office and the royal family wanted to see diverse representation in the congregation,” he tells PEOPLE of the service.
“I feel really honored to play a role in this,” he adds. “I would never seek to represent anyone, I have to say, but it was such a privilege to be there.”
King Charles III.HANNAH MCKAY/POOL/AFP via Getty
Overall, he found the experience “very intense.”
source: people.com
