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WATCH: South African fan shares memories of Queen Elizabeth II
'Queen Victoria, who died 1901, I call her Auntie Vickie.'
Members of the public stop in the rain to study a huge picture of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II displayed at Piccadilly Circus in central London on September 8, 2022, after the announcement of the death of Queen Elizabeth II, in central London. (Photo by Ben Stansall / AFP)
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Tahir Levy, born in 1935 and raised in District Six, Cape Town, has always been a big fan of the late Queen of England, Elizabeth II.
Over the years, Levy has collected various memorabilia of the Queen and the Royal family.
“Queen Victoria, who died 1901, I call her Auntie Vickie. That’s what you can see over there, and that is the Union Jack,” he says as he points to the flag hanging on a wall in his house.
As a schoolchild in 1947, Levy and his family had the opportunity to see the royal family when they visited during the royal tour of South Africa.
“When we were school children in 1947, and we went to see them with a Union Jack,” he recalls.
“Before we sang, ‘God save the Queen’ and ‘Land of hope and glory’, she stopped right in front of me, and I looked at her. She was a princess, and she had these peach red cheeks, and I said, ‘wow!’ She looked dashing, smashing and extremely ravishing.”
As the 87-year-old reflects on the Queen’s passing, he also takes a moment to remember his late wife, who passed away in 2021.
“I had two queens in my life, my wife died last year, and my Queen died this year.”
With a blanket around his legs, his eyes are fixed on a flickering, old-school TV set as he watches developing news of the Queen’s passing and preparations for her burial.
He will clearly never forget the day he got to meet the royal family and will remain a fan of the Queen for the rest of his life.
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