Former Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison described meeting the Queen as the most nervous moment of his life.
The former leader recalled how he and his wife Jenny had hastily tried to prepare for the occasion at Buckingham Palace in 2019.
“Jenny was on YouTube how to curtsy in the car,” he said.
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Mr Morrison was also keen to get the right gift.
He called his mentor and fellow former Prime Minister John Howard for advice, who told him, “You can’t go wrong with anything horse-related. Go study on your horses.”
Eventually he decided to buy her a book about Winx, a champion Australian racehorse.
The Queen, he said, “immediately takes it out of the bag, she flips through it like a schoolgirl, she’s lit up like you wouldn’t believe”.
It was a moment of relief and lightness for all. Queen Elizabeth II “just put us at ease in an instant”.
In 1954, she became the first reigning monarch to walk on Australian floor. Mr Morrison says it was the start of a special bond with Australia and its people.
“She loved this country,” he said. “She had been here 16 times. You don’t do that if you don’t like the place, and she came back again and again and again.”
He said the Queen understood the country and what life on earth was like.
“I think she admired the resilience of Australians working and living off the land here,” he said. “I think she respected them a lot, and I think she encouraged them a lot.
“They had a special connection to her as Australians – perhaps more than anyone else here in the country.”
Australia’s relationship with the Royal Family has not been easy, but its respect for the Queen has proven to be enduring.
In 1999, a referendum was held on whether the country should officially become a republic.
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Worldwide tributes to the Queen
That is of course not the case – and it is notable that Malcolm Turnbull, who led the campaign for the country to become a republic, has paid him some of the most moving tributes in recent days.
He appeared to be in tears saying, “She’s one of my favorite people.”
In sydneyoutside Government House, the seat of the governor of New South Wales, many ordinary Australians came to lay flowers and pay their respects.
Along with the eulogies were messages of support for King Charles and the heavy days ahead for him.
No matter where the next few years take this country, there is recognition across the political spectrum that this is a time of mourning and gratitude for a lifetime of service.
