An Australian man who briefly chatted to Queen Elizabeth at a function 58 years ago has been asked to reflect on the life and times of the monarch, as part of the ABC’s rolling coverage of the royal’s death.
The man – who can’t remember exactly what the Queen said to him, but thinks it was probably to ask him his name before moving onto the next person – was labelled a ‘royal expert’, given his intimate relationship with the royal family.
“We want to hear from those who knew the Queen best, and then to hear from those who knew her somewhat, followed by anyone who has ever been in the same vicinity as the Queen over the past 96 years. We’ve got to draw this out for another month at least,” an ABC spokesperson said.
The national broadcaster also sat down with a woman who once knew someone who saw the Queen wave at a street parade. “Well, I didn’t actually know him. And he didn’t see her wave specifically. But he was standing very close to people who did. And they told him about it, and then someone else passed on the story to me. So you could say that I was part of the Queen’s inner circle ”.
The ABC has so far spoken to 180,000 people about the Queen. “We’ve only scratched the surface,” a spokesperson said.
Anyone who has seen the Queen before, from any distance, or on TV or in a newspaper, has been asked to contact the ABC immediately to be interviewed about their memories of the Queen.
