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Speaker 1: You're listening to the FITZI and Whip a podcast.

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Speaker 2: We are celebrating the life of Queen Elizabeth Ion. This

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Speaker 2: morning three point thirty, we received the news that she

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Speaker 2: had passed away and one man who had worked for

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Speaker 2: the royal family as a butler for a very long

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Speaker 2: time is Grant. Harold Grant, you beautiful man. Thanks for

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Speaker 2: joining us.

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Speaker 1: Mate, are you mate?

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Speaker 3: We always love to chat. You're a friend of the show,

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Speaker 3: you're also a personal friend, and it's an honor to

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Speaker 3: have you on the show. It would be better to

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Speaker 3: be talking at different times or under different circumstances, but

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Speaker 3: at the same time, we're celebrating the Queen today as

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Speaker 3: we look back on her seventy years of rain.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, it's a bet of a I think everyone will

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Speaker 1: be here still in a bit of shot. Actually, I

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Speaker 1: think we're even myself. I've just been I've just taken

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Speaker 1: a break from doing interviews and just watching the news

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Speaker 1: myself for the fust pay And yeah, I think just

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Speaker 1: a bit of a shot that this is actually happened.

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Speaker 1: You know, those day is going to come and then

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Speaker 1: suddenly here we are. You know, suddenly she's gone.

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Speaker 3: Obviously you worked, it's a royal family and alongside, but

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Speaker 3: had some personal connections within the royal family as well.

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Speaker 3: We wanted to talk as we celebrate. Also, we were

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Speaker 3: talking earlier about the dance that you once shared with

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Speaker 3: the Queen. Can you talk us through that beautiful moment.

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Speaker 1: It's really funny because I've always been talking about this

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Speaker 1: today and so many people haven't had the study, which

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Speaker 1: I thought would have at his point. But I remember

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Speaker 1: when I was a youngster, I watched the documentary about

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Speaker 1: the royal family and there was a scene we used

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Speaker 1: other queen dances and I said to my late father,

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Speaker 1: how do you get to dance to the queen? How

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Speaker 1: do you get to be around the queen? And he said,

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Speaker 1: you either marry into the family or you worked for them.

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Speaker 1: And I quite said, as we thought, who could I

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Speaker 1: marry and realized that that obviously maybe wasn't such a

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Speaker 1: clever a clever move. But then I wrote, I wrote

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Speaker 1: to the Queen. I wrote two letters to her. I

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Speaker 1: even sent a picture so you know what I looked like,

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Speaker 1: and basically said one day I will come to work

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Speaker 1: for you. And obviously didn't quite harm with that because

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Speaker 1: I went to be a butler first, son. But what's

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Speaker 1: the extraordinary is that about eleven years from the day

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Speaker 1: of watching this program, I was at the Model Castle.

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Speaker 1: I was in the ballroom. I was at the very

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Speaker 1: same ball at seeing this program. I was dancing with

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Speaker 1: as she was then the Dutch of Como. And when

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Speaker 1: we were dancing, the Duchess said, oh, Grant, you look

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Speaker 1: you look quite nervous. You look quite scared. And I said,

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Speaker 1: because of this dream that happened I was youngster. I said,

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Speaker 1: here I am And I said, I think we're going

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Speaker 1: to dance the Queen to night. And she said, there's

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Speaker 1: one hundred and fifty people in this room. It's highly

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Speaker 1: unlike the Queen would dance with you. At which point

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Speaker 1: we finished dancing. That just kind of made this sound

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Speaker 1: as if oh, I thought I stud in her feet

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Speaker 1: of something. And I looked down and I hadn't. And

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Speaker 1: then I turned around and then I jumped oh. And

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Speaker 1: then behind was the Queen and she put her hands

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Speaker 1: up to dance and then went into real and it

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Speaker 1: was it was amazing. But she was just such an

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Speaker 1: amazing She was just such an amazing She was just

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Speaker 1: such an amazing character. I've got so many memories with her,

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Speaker 1: and I even remember one occasion that I remember why

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Speaker 1: what happened? I remember kind of running down a corridor.

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Speaker 3: With her, running down the corridor.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, I remember that one year squad. I can't

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Speaker 1: remember what I was doing, but I was. I was

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Speaker 1: doing something and she she she started kind of running.

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Speaker 1: Can you believe this? And Anda was trying to keep

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Speaker 1: up with her as we were run it, And I'm thinking,

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Speaker 1: nobody's going to believe that. I've actually been kind of

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Speaker 1: pained a kind of very fast walks last run with

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Speaker 1: the Queen.

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Speaker 3: The Queen run, well, I.

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Speaker 1: Have, and I'll tell you it was a job to

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Speaker 1: keep up with her.

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Speaker 2: I feel like grant that she wanted, I mean, living

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Speaker 2: in a bubble like that in the royal family and

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Speaker 2: not being connected with I mean, she went out and

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Speaker 2: did engagements with the public, but you know, you, you

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Speaker 2: guys that were there with her the whole time, you

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Speaker 2: would have seen a different side of her where she

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Speaker 2: wanted to interact with you guys and have conversations. Did

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Speaker 2: you have moments like that where she would just come

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Speaker 2: over and chat to you.

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Speaker 1: Yeah. I remember being at a Buckingham palace one of

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Speaker 1: the garden parties, and she came over, you have you

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Speaker 1: seen the flowers and we were kind of thinking, sorry,

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Speaker 1: because expect the queen, So you have you looked at

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Speaker 1: the gardens and we were like, no, not not quite

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Speaker 1: and she said, well covid and have a look look

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Speaker 1: at the border. The roads to looking amazing. And it

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Speaker 1: was really funny because it was sudden, like you know,

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Speaker 1: you can't say, oh, i'll look later, trot you know,

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Speaker 1: in the direction of the queen's point. But no, there

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Speaker 1: was there was many I mean I could bow you guys,

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Speaker 1: for I was with them. I mean, there was many

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Speaker 1: things that used to happen. I remember once being a

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Speaker 1: horse on the memorals, always at the Morrow weirdly, weirdly,

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Speaker 1: but the memorial stay. And I was riding this horse

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Speaker 1: and came with a few others and the Queen suddenly

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Speaker 1: appeared and some one of us, whatever reason, decided to

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Speaker 1: bow on a horse, which was she just good on us, said,

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Speaker 1: what a bunch of idiots, You know, we can really

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Speaker 1: there was something. We had some sort of problems walking

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Speaker 1: at Why are you trying to.

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Speaker 3: Lean under your horse? You're about to head by it?

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Speaker 2: Do you know what?

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Speaker 3: I love Grant though by the stories that you're telling,

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Speaker 3: it sounded like there was obviously two sides to the Queen.

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Speaker 3: There was the royal engagement that we all saw and

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Speaker 3: what the press saw. But at the same time, she

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Speaker 3: took comfort in familiar faces and people that she knew

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Speaker 3: and and rather enjoyed. And I almost saw you as

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Speaker 3: an outlet to be herself the way she engaged with you.

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Speaker 1: She she was there was two stays to her, two

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Speaker 1: lovely stays that she could mentioned. You know, there was

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Speaker 1: obviously they say that we all know, we all see,

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Speaker 1: we all love which is the queen. And then there

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Speaker 1: was you could almost see that missus windsor you know,

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Speaker 1: the kind of behind the scenes where she was just

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Speaker 1: like everybody else. I mean, she has the same lake

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Speaker 1: dis Lake Harbort, you know. And and also there's footage,

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Speaker 1: I mean, you know on Lane there's the speatures of

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Speaker 1: her different races and things, and you see how getting

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Speaker 1: excited and kind of running around and and and I

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Speaker 1: also remember that the first time I was of facially

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Speaker 1: introduced to her, so I always had met her, but

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Speaker 1: I hadn't been especially introduced. And the most bizarre thing

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Speaker 1: was it was actually the Prince of Wales that actually

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Speaker 1: introduced me to his mother, and it was at her

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Speaker 1: atheist was it was a atheist a Patti of q

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Speaker 1: Palace for Hiatus Best or something. And I was busy,

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Speaker 1: actually seventh at the time in its most awkward moment,

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Speaker 1: when the middle of Sebuce you suddenly have an introduction.

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Speaker 1: And I remember Prince kind of stuned around and saying, oh,

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Speaker 1: you know, Mammy, this is this is Granted, one of

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Speaker 1: my my butlers. And she went out and Rand and

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Speaker 1: I suddenly thought, oh god, what I doing Now drop

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Speaker 1: the veal. I'll keep standing there, you know, you don't

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Speaker 1: know what to do. And then and she she kind

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Speaker 1: of she kind of you know, looked at me and

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Speaker 1: smiled and started charted me. And I was and I was,

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Speaker 1: I was so nervous and so overwhelmed that the Prince

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Speaker 1: was just invented and introduced me to the Queen. She

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Speaker 1: said something to me, and I think I literally went

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Speaker 1: a little because I couldn't my.

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Speaker 2: Word side amazing, Grant. So just before you go, Grant,

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Speaker 2: what did she mean to you? I mean, we see,

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Speaker 2: you know, being part of the Commonwealth. And and she

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Speaker 2: visited Australia numerous times. And we see you know, we

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Speaker 2: only see what we see on the television here, but

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Speaker 2: you spend a bit of time with her. What what

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Speaker 2: did Queen Elizabeth mean to you?

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Speaker 1: Do? You know? Fessor mentioned she she loved the Comwealth.

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Speaker 1: I mean she loved there's another countries, you know that.

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Speaker 1: I mean the met of tames Australia. She had a

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Speaker 1: love for everything and upset some of us. But yeah,

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Speaker 1: she met a lot. You know, she was an amazing

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Speaker 1: lead and I feel really lucky to have had the

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Speaker 1: honor of actually known her for part of her life.

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Speaker 3: Grant the other thing too, I mean from what I'd taken,

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Speaker 3: what up my understanding of her history, which is brief,

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Speaker 3: But she was also one hell of a pillar of

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Speaker 3: strength for everybody city of the monarch there and also

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Speaker 3: the way she led not only the royal family but

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Speaker 3: but England and the Commonwealth.

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Speaker 1: She she is was, She was a verse and it

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Speaker 1: said for the country. You know, whenever when anything was

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Speaker 1: wrong with those problems, you kind have turned to them.

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Speaker 1: It's it's the most it's the most extraordinary thing, because

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Speaker 1: you know, over the years there've been discussions, as you know,

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Speaker 1: they talk about you know, one day, but we have

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Speaker 1: a money, so we're not. And the reality is, especially

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Speaker 1: with the Queen, I mean, I have no idea what

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Speaker 1: obviously long term future, what's going to happen, But well

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Speaker 1: the Queen, there was stability, there was security, and we

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Speaker 1: always just I mean, you don't have to see a

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Speaker 1: few months ago at how the platinum celebrations and everybody

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Speaker 1: just kind of there and and chanting for her, just

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Speaker 1: wanting to get glimpses of her, and everyone just everyone

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Speaker 1: saw her as basically as the nation's granny, you know,

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Speaker 1: and you know we've we've now lost well we have,

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Speaker 1: we've literally lost the granny of the nation and the Conwell.

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Speaker 2: Well, Grant, we now how busy you are this morning,

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Speaker 2: and we hit we do have a great friendship with you, Grant,

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Speaker 2: that we've had for many a years. We've been we've

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Speaker 2: celebrated at many weddings, but now we mourn for the

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Speaker 2: next ten to twelve days. We appreciate your time, Grant.

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Speaker 2: Thanks thanks for coming on the show.

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Speaker 1: Thank you guys, thank you having on and send my

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Speaker 1: best wishes to your families as well.

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Speaker 3: Always mate, thanks for sharing.

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Speaker 1: So everybuddy, thank you. You're listening to the FITZI and

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Speaker 1: Whippo podcast