Jan. 10, 2026

The Lighter Side of the Crown: Gloves, Gowns, and Green Helicopters

The Lighter Side of the Crown: Gloves, Gowns, and Green Helicopters
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A Windsor Castle video sparks online outrage when staff handle a rare book without gloves, and the Royal Collection Trust has to explain why bare, clean hands are actually best practice. Plus, the real-world cost of dressing like a senior royal, new numbers on the royal helicopter fleet and sustainable fuel claims, and a few lighter royal-adjacent items to close out the week.

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Calorogus Shark Media. Hello and welcome to balace intrigue Game

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your host Mark Francis. Staff at Windsor Castle have found

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themselves having to clarify their handling protocols after a social

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media video sparked and unexpected backlash. The clip, shared online

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by the Royal Collection Trust showed two members of staff

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carefully turning the pages of one of the largest books

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in the Royal Library collection without wearing gloves. The post

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explained that the book was John James Orderbond's monumental four

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volume work Birds of America, made up of four hundred

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and thirty five hand colored prints. The caption noted that

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the auder Bond insisted even the largest species be reproduced

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life size, resulting in dramatic illustrations printed on so called

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double elephant paper, meaning roughly one hundred by sixty seven centimeters.

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The sheer scale of the book and the rare glimpse

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inside the Royal Library at Windsor Castle quickly captured attention,

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but viewers were soon distracted by one detail. The staff

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handling the book were not wearing gloves. Comments flooded in

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why aren't these ladies wearing gloves to protect the paper,

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wrote one user. Others were more blunt, with one simply

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asking no gloves. The reaction was strong enough that twenty

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four hours later, the Royal Collection Trust posted a follow

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up video addressing the concern directly. The caption read why

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don't we wear gloves to handle books? Yesterday's real was

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popular with lots of questions about wearing gloves when handling books.

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So here's the explanation as to why our curator isn't

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wearing gloves. Speaking to the camera, the curator explaining the

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best practice for rare books is actually clean, dry, bare hands.

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The best practice is to have clean, dry hands with

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no hand cream and no nail varnish, she said, adding

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that bare hands allow pages to be turned more carefully

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and with greater control than gloves, which can reduce sensitivity

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and increase the risk of damage. The Royal Library inside

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Windsor Castle contains more than forty five thousand rare books

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and manuscripts, spread across three rooms. It is not open

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to the public, which is why even brief glimpses on

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social media tend to generate excitement and occasionally controversy. Dressing

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as a senior royal comes with significant expectations and a

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notable price tag. While the exact figures are never officially disclosed,

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estimates suggest that a royal wardrobe typically cost between fifty

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thousand and two hundred thousand dollars per year. For many years,

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clothing worn for official engagements was covered by the household

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budget of what is now King Charles. That funding was

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largely drawn from private income sources, including the Duchy of

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Cornwall before it passed to Prince Williaman twenty twenty two.

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Items worn outside official duties could be paid for personally,

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while designers have also been known to loan outfits that

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are later returned. Kate has built substantial wardrobe since joining

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the royal family in twenty eleven. Reports have estimated that

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her post wedding wardrobe refresh alone exceeded fifty thousand dollars,

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though that figure does not account for clothing borrowed on

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loan or pieces she already owned. Megan Markle also drew

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attention for the cost of her fashion during her time

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as a working royal. In twenty eighteen, British press estimates

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suggests her post wedding outfits total more than two hundred

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thousand dollars. Again, noting that the figure likely included loaned,

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discounted or previously owned clothing. King Charles has been recognized

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for pushing green at Royal travel, with new figures highlighting

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the scale and environmental focus of the Royal Family's helicopter use.

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Since entering service in twenty twenty five, the Royal Family's

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two leased Augusta Westland AWE thirty nine helicopters have flown

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around fifty eight thousand miles, the equivalent of circling the

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globe twice. Flight records show the aircraft logged roughly four

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hunt twenty flying hours between late February and the end

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of November, operating on at least one hundred and forty

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two of the two hundred and seventy nine days for

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that period. In total, the helicopters completed around three hundred

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and forty separate journeys. The helicopters replaced two Sikorski aircraft

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that had been in service for fifteen years, with the

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Royal Household confirming in June twenty twenty four that their

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use would be maximized. A key factor in the decision

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was that the new helicopters operate using the maximum industry

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standard of fifty percent sustainable aviation fuel, reducing reliance on

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more expensive fixed wing aircraft. Princess Anne emerged as the

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most frequent user of the new fleet. Flight data shows

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sixty eight stops at her Gatcombe Park home in Gloucestershire,

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reflecting her consistently high volume of public engagements throughout the year.

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Prince William has also made extensive use of the helicopters,

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with forty seven recorded stops at Windsor and five at

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Forest Lodge, the family home he moved to in October.

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I could show the Prince using the aircraft for a

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wide range of duties, including travel to a referee training

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course in Walsall, a woman's rugby match in Exeter, visits

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to the England women's football squad in Staffordshire, Homewood's work

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in Sheffield, and earth shot related engagements in Norwich. Kate

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also relied on helicopter transport for some engagements. Her visit

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to a well being garden at Colchester Hospital on July

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second involved seven separate helicopter movements covering around three hundred

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and ninety miles, including stops at Windsor, Mervill Barracks and

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the family's Norfolkoma and the Hall. The Prince and Princess

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of Wales also traveled together by helicopter to events, including

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a Six Nations match at Cardiff's Principality Stadium and a

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visit to Southport to meet Bereve family. Following the twenty

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twenty four nine attack, Tim Foscheng, chief executive of the

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British Helicopter Association, praised the King for leading by example

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on greener aviation, saying I know full well the Royal

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flight do look for a blend. You've got to appreciate.

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It comes as an expanse, but the helicopter industry is

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very forward leaning on doing the regulatory clearances for saf

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All Royal travel is funded through the Sovereign Grant, which

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supports official duties and is linked to the Crown and

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State profits. A Royal a defended the level of helicopter use,

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saying if you're going to make an investment of that magnitude,

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then you need to sweat the asset. A Buckingham Palace

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spokesman added that helicopters are a key component of the

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Royal travel plan due to their unique capability to access

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remote regions of the UK. Which are not otherwise readily

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served by other modes of transport, and that they allow

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members of the royal family to carry out multiple engagements

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in a single day more palace in just a moment.

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Netflix star Claire Foy has said that portraying Queen Elizabeth

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I Sakan felt like just another role, as she reflected

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on playing the late monarch in the hit drama The Crown, Foy,

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now forty one, said, I'd been acting for a good

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ten years before then, so I had a decent gauge

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on how it all worked and enough experience under my

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belt to know it was just another role that was

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good for me, because it meant I was willing just

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to be amazed about these extraordinary experiences I was having,

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as opposed to believing the hype. Foy also echoed sentiments

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previously expressed by Harry when discussing her discomfort with social

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media and public commentary. She said she prefers to stay

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quiet rather than weigh in on issues. She feels unqualified

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to judge. What I believe and who I am and

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where I stand on things is constantly in flux, as

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much as it is for everyone else, and I have

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absolutely no authority to discuss or proclaim about anything other

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than what I do as an actor. She said, if

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you're just making noise up for the sake of it,

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then you should probably shut up. So I tend to

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shut up. In recognition of what would have been the

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one hundredth birthday of the late Queen Elizabeth, the Royal

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Mint has unveiled a special commemorative coin. The late monarch

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would have reached her centenary on April twenty first, and

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the occasion is being marked with a five pound coin

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issued as part of the Mints twenty twenty six collection.

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Elizabeth appeared on more UK coins than any other sovereign,

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and for decades her portrait was synonymous with British coinage.

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Over the course of her reign, five official portraits of

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the Queen were introduced on circulating coins. The design of

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the centenary coins centers on Elizabeth's royal cipher and features

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Saint Edward's crown. The imagery is framed by a decorative

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foliage inspired by the ironwork of the east door at

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Saint George's Chapel in Windsor, where the late Queen is

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laid to rest around The designer one hundred beads symbolizing

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the one hundred years since her birth. Exalted Beta in

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Gloria also appears translated as she will be exhorted in glory.

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Rebecca Morgan, director of Commemorative Coin at the Royal Mint,

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said this is an exciting moment for the nation to

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discover some of the anniversaries that will be celebrated on

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UK coins in twenty twenty six. Whether you're a Royal

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enthusiast and motor racing van or passionate about conservation, there's

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something for everyone in this collection. Coins have a unique

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bill to mark a variety of themes that resonate across

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different communities and interests, creating lasting reminders of the moments

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and institutions the shape house shared heritage. We are also

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delighted to be introducing recycle gold into a limited number

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of commemorative coins. This move demonstrates our commitment to a

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more sustainable future for the Royal Mint, preserving finite precious

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metal resources and supporting a circular economy. Alongside the Queen's

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Centenary coin, the Royal Mint will release other commemoratives marking

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major milestones. These include one hundred years of the British

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Grand Prix two hundred years of the Zoological Society of

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London and the bi centenary of HMS Bagel, and they

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have it. If you'd like to email and so addresses

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the Palace intrigu at gmail dot com. Please follow us

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at Spotify, Apple or the app of your choice and

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