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A Callaroga Shark Media, Hello and welcome to Palace Intrigue
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and your host, Mark Francis. The Royal family marks what
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would have been Queen Elizabeth the Second's one hundredth birthday
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with a series of events Today. King Charles and Queen Camilla,
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along with other senior members of the family, will lead
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the commemorations, which are designed to reflect both the late
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Queen's public service and her personal legacy. The focal point
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of the day will be a reception at Buckingham Palace,
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where charities and organizations closely associated with Queen Elizabeth will
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be invited. These include Cancer Research UK, the Jockey Club
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and the Army Benevolent Fund. In a symbolic gesture, Guess
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will also include some of the UK's oldest citizens, who
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are themselves turning one hundred on the same day, with
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the King presenting their centenary cards in person. The commemorations
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are being framed as a dignified tribute to a monarch
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whose seventy year reign left a lasting impact on the
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nation and the Commonwealth. King Charles will deliver a national
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address accompanied by a specially produced video montage featuring key
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moments from the late Queen's life, including her wartime service,
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royal tours and the Platinum Jubilee celebrations The Palace. Released
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are still from the broadcast filmed in the library of
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Balmoral Castle at the start of the month. We see
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the King standing in the corner of the room in
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front of bookcases. One photo appears to be of the
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Queen and another a childhood drawing of her Majesty. Senior
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members of the Royal family, including the Prince and Princess
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of Wales, the Princess Royal, and the Duke and Duchess
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of Edinburgh, are expected to attend Today's events. In the
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days surrounding the anniversary, other engagements have already taken place,
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including a new exhibition at the King's Gallery titled Queen
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Elizabeth the Second Her Life in Style, which showcases her
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wardrobe and traces her life through fashion. The British Museum
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has a scale model of the planned Queen Elizabeth Memorial,
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designed by Lord Foster. The project is expected to include
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a family of gardens in Saint James Park featuring winding
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pathways in a new glass unity bridge. King Charles will
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become Royal patron of a new charity known as the
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Queen Elizabeth Trust, which will operate independently and focus on
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awarding grants to communities across the UK. Its aim is
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to support the regeneration of shared spaces, including under used buildings,
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green areas and neighborhood hubs. To support the charities launch,
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the government will provide a one off endowment of forty
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million dollars intended to fund early projects and encourage further investment.
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In a BBC broadcast, Queen Camilla said, I don't think
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I've ever seen anybody have a sense of duty like
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she had. It must have been so difficult being surrounded
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by much older men. There weren't women prime ministers or
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women presidents. She was the only one, so I think
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she carved her own role. A more unusual tribute is
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a limited addition Teddy Bear, created in Her Majesty's likeness.
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The collectible, produced by German toymaker Stife, is the first
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time the company has designed a bear to fully resemble
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a royal figure, complete with one of the Queen's signature outfits,
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pearl necklace and handbag. The project was led by Nikola Mattz,
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who said it's much more than a bear. It's a keepsake,
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and it embodies what the Queen stood for stability her values.
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The design draws on one of the queen's most recognizable looks,
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featuring a bright green coat and matching hat, a colour
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chosen for its visibility during public appearances. Metz explained the
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choice reflects her approach to duty, noting that being seen
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was an essential part of the role. Every detail has
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been carefully considered, from the hand stitched features to the
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crystal approach, which is based on a piece the queen
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wore during key moments of her life. The only departure
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from tradition is the handbag, which has been made white
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rather than black for a more cheerful effect. Just four
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nine hundred and ninety six bears have been produced worldwide,
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a number chosen to reflect the Queen's age of ninety
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six at the time of her death, and the item
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has already been position as a highly sought after collector's peace.
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Stif's Ian Monroe said the Queen may have been physically slight,
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but her presence was immense, adding it's our absolute honour
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to mark the occasion with a beautifully handcraft bear that
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captures hearts now and will be passed down the generations
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more palatant just a moment. Anna Key has been appointed
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to write the official biography of Queen Elizabeth I, with
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unprecedented access to the late monarch's personal papers in those
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closest to her. The commission, approved by King Charles the Third,
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will allow Key to study material held in the Royal archives,
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including both personal and official documents, as well as conduct
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interviews with members of the royal family and others who
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knew the Queen well. Key, a respected historian and director
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of the Landmark Trust, described the role as a profound honour,
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saying she was our longest reigning monarch and an extraordinary
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woman whose life spanned a century of great change. And
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deeply grateful to His Majesty the King for entrusting me
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with this response ability and for granting me access to
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her papers, and will do all I can to do
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justice to her life and work. The project has been
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under consideration for several years, with senior figures within the
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royal household assessing potential candidates. Key, known for her work
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on British history in the monarchy, has written extensively on
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royal subjects, including books on the Crown Jewels and the
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reign of Charles the Second. There is already speculation that
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the biography could be published in multiple volumes, potentially separating
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earlier periods of the Queen's reign from more recent and
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sensitive chapters. These later years include major family developments, such
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as the breakdown of the King's first marriage, the controversies
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surrounding Prince Andrew, and the departure of Prince Haran Megan
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Michael from royal duties. The late Queen was known to
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have kept a detailed, handwritten diary, writing regularly each evening,
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though she did not participate in recorded interviews about her life.
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The biography will form part of a broader effort to
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commemorate her legacy, including the launch of the Queen Elizabeth
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Thrust and plans for a national memorials inspired by her
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belief that everyone is our neighbor, will focus on supporting
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community spaces across the UK. Dame Helen Mirren has praised
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Queen Elizabeth for staying at Bowmorral with Princess William and
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Harry in the days following the death of their mother,
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Princess Diana in August nineteen ninety seven. The actress, speaking
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in a new BBC documentary Queen Elizabeth Her Story, al
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Centeneri defended the Queen's decision not to immediately return to London,
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a choice that grew widespread public criticism at the time.
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Miron said, difficult for anyone to really know quite how
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to handle it. I think she did exactly the right thing.
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I think she was right to stay in bow Moral
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with the children, and I think when she came out
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and did the very very difficult walk by all the
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flowers and everything, that was the right thing to do.
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The Queen arrived in London five days after Diana's death
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the day before the funeral, where she met mourners and
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viewed floral tributes. That evening, she addressed the nation, speaking
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both as monarch and grandmother. Royal biographer Robert Hardman argues
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that one late life decision involving Prehen s Andrew, continues
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to cast a shadow of the Queen Elizabeth, particularly the
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handling of the fallout from his association with Jeffrey Epstein
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in the twenty twenty two civil Settlement. Hardman tells people
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that decision will go down as a mistake and one
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that has outlasted her. At the same time, he makes
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clear that the broader perspective of her reign tells a
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very different story, adding her greatness remains. We tend to
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look at things through the prism of the present, particularly
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Andrew and Harry. But when you stand back and take
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in a seventy year reign in a ninety six year life,
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those are important chapters, not the defining elements. He also
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reflects on the scale of her achievement, saying she came
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into a man's world, held that institution together, and handed
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it on in far better shape than people expected. In
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his substact, deep Crown writes, we are beginning to lose
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her to legend, and I think she would have found
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that faintly irritating. It happens to all of them, eventually,
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to the great ones, most of all, the rough edges smooth,
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the complicated decisions recede into footnotes. The human being disappears
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gradually into the monument, and the monument is easier to
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live with than the human being was. What remains is
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a kind of comfortable iconography. The handbag held at that
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particular angle, the corgies arranged at her feet, the pithy
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one liner delivered with impeccable timing to a visiting head
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of state, the Paddington Bear sketch at the Jubilee, the
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James Bond descent into the Olympic Stadium, the Rainbow in
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the sky as a coffin lay inside. These moments were genuine,
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and they were wonderful, and they have calcified with remarkable
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speed into a national comfort blanket. What I will say
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is that the warmth was real, the humor was real,
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and the steel underneath both was equally real. And anyone
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who encountered only the first two without registering the third
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was not paying sufficient attention. And they have it. Check
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to email us addresses the Palace Intrigue at gmail a
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dot com. Please followus on Spotify, Apple or the app
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of your choice. Leaves a nice review from Joining the
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Show by Mike Francis My thanks to John McDermott. This
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is a Palace Intrigue and good terms