During the televised broadcast, Brigadier Lofty was seen on camera wearing a kahu huruhuru [Māori cloak] as he waited for the Duke’s custom built military green Land Rover carrying his coffin arrive outside the steps of St George’s Chapel.
"I was conscious I was the only Kiwi there," he said.
"To wear the kahu hururu just reminded me what my heritage is and where I come from, the men and women who I have served with over the years in the NZ defence force but also our heritage and history, and that’s the link for me with the Duke of Edinburgh," he added.