Ben Lopez is hoping to hand it to King Charles at the funeral of his mother on Monday
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A Hull businessman says it was a "true honour" to restore childhood picture of the Queen after her passing on Thursday to give as a gift to King Charles III.
Loved Ones Forever founder, Benjamin Lopez from Cottingham, has shared with Hull Live the stunning picture he has restored as a thoughtful gift to King Charles following his mother's death.
Formerly part of the British Army, Ben was paying his respects to the late Queen Elizabeth II outside of Buckingham Palace on Friday, the day after her passing. When the opportunity arose to give the King a loving gift as well as passing him a red rose.
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Speaking to Hull Live, Ben said: "I was stood right at the front when King Charles arrived and I passed him a rose. After that, I thought it would be an amazing opportunity for me to let him know that I would like to restore a photo of the Queen for him to remember her in the best way."
Ben said he was immediately "starstruck" but knew he wanted to do a loving gesture for the newly-proclaimed King so he rushed over to speak to him. He said: "When he came I said to him – 'Sir I restore photos for a living and it would be a great pleasure to restore a photo of Her Majesty that I could gift for you.'"
He said The King replied: "please do". Benthen insisted that he will bring the picture along with him to the funeral and he said King Charles III replied: "Thank you, young man".
Speaking about this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, Ben said that "the feeling of restoring this photo means the world to me" as he is an ex-serviceman, he continued: "I was in the British Army when I was 18 and saying my declaration to give my life to my Queen when I signed my royal oath of elegance was the most single and most powerful thing of my life."
"And now the fact I get to do this for her family is a true honour that will be with me for the rest of my life", he concluded.
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