The Republican Party now has the "enormous responsibility" of working to bring the United States together, members said after Donald Trump's election as President.

Malise Sundstrom, chairwoman of Republicans Overseas, said she had not expected the result but that her and other members of the group in London were feeling "very good".

As Mr Trump delivered his victory speech across the Atlantic, she said: "I think we need to cheer the other side up - it is a very emotional time, it is a very uncertain time.

Read more: US Election - Donald Trump vows to be a 'president for all Americans' after shock victory

"It's hard to be a Republican in London, so I think it is up to us to kind of explain how this has come to light - it is up to us to now bring the country together, it is an enormous responsibility."

The 32-year-old said a Trump presidency was not going to be "as bad as everyone says", adding: "One man, one party, one country ... it's not going to be the end of the world, I promise."

She went on: "A lot of people in the exit polls said that they wanted change. I don't think Clinton was very wise to run as Obama for a third term when the people clearly want change.

"We are voting for positives and for vision and for a clear message. What we saw was Hillary Clinton trying to please everyone and divide people, and a very overwhelming message from Donald Trump and a clear vision on a number of fronts, and that's something that people could buy into.

"For him to receive this kind of turnout, and the support he's getting, is really incredible."

Ms Sundstrom said earlier on Wednesday morning she had been feeling "isolated but optimistic" at the election-night party at the US embassy in London, which saw a largely Democrat-supporting turnout.

Read more: US Election - Donald Trump vows to be a 'president for all Americans' after shock victory

More than 1,000 diplomats and ex-pats came to party away the night at the embassy, which had stars projected onto its roof and was lit in the colours of the American flag.

London mayor Sadiq Khan, Justice Secretary Liz Truss and Jeremy Paxman were just some of the notable faces at the American-themed bash. The Fall star Gillian Anderson, comedian Jimmy Carr and Labour MP Tristram Hunt were also spotted.

Towards the end of the night most of the crowd sat largely silent as projections emerged that Mr Trump had won the key battleground states he needed.

The party started winding down before it was clear which side had won, though some Democrat voters were already predicting it was "game over" for Hillary Clinton.

Christine Sweeney, a Democrat supporter who moved from America to London two months ago to study at the London School of Economics (LSE), said she was in shock at how the night had developed.

She said: "I think if I were around my peers back in Washington DC, I think everybody would just be in complete shock. I think there would be tears."

The 28-year-old said she felt like she was on a reality TV show, adding she was concerned about how the US would be perceived on the global stage with Mr Trump in the White House.

She said: "Being here, the first thing on my mind is really our view among the international community.

"I think Trump, through his campaign, has demonstrated that he can be boiled down to some soundbites that, in my opinion, generate misogyny and hate and rejection of a lot of the values that are important to the history of the United States.

"We are a country of immigrants. My grandparents are all from other countries, and this new wave of immigrants he has proposed to ban, so it's really troubling that direction that he wants to go in."

Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron said there had been a "real tension" at the London embassy.

Read more: US Election - Donald Trump vows to be a 'president for all Americans' after shock victory

He said the mood was "very dipfferent" to the atmosphere eight years ago when Barack Obama was hoping to become America's first black president.

He said: "The mood then was absolutely up and positive. Obama had run such a hope-filled, joyful campaign and you just felt he was almost certainly going to win.

"Here ... there's a nervousness."

Mr Farron added that the race for President reminded him of the run-up to Brexit, with "populist, divisive arguments" on one side and "rather dull arguments against them" on the other.

Earlier on in the evening, US ambassador Matthew Barzun said the presidential campaign had not been "overly dull" as he addressed the hundreds of guests dressed in the American colours.

Taking to the podium at midnight he said: "Reflecting more broadly on the politics that I have been privileged to see on both sides of the political spectrum, on both sides of the Atlantic, I would sum it all up by saying: 'It has not been overly dull.'"

He ended with a toast to the next 70 years of the special relationship between the US and the UK, which was met with cheers as the room raised their glasses.

"I want to raise my glass, or my can, to this special relationship," Mr Barzun said.

"To all that we have done, all the aid that we've administered, all the businesses we've built, all the culture we've created, all the wars we've waged, the peace we've provided, and, yes, the mistakes we've made and the lessons we've learned, and of critical importance tonight, the democracies we've demonstrated to ourselves, with one another and to the world.

"That we demonstrate not just on election day or the day after, but every single day by doing the daily acts of disagreeing and dialogue and decency, which are democracy's demand of each and every one of us."

The crowd joined in his toast and applauded as he stepped off the podium.