devastating blow – Michmutters

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Queen Elizabeth’s heartbreak as her childhood friend dies, aged 97

Queen Elizabeth's heartbreak as her childhood friend dies, aged 97

The Queen has been dealt another devastating blow with the loss of a close childhood friend just months after the death of her husband Prince Philip.

Lady Myra Butter, a cousin to the Duke of Edinburgh, was a childhood friend of the Queen and part of her inner circle. She died aged 97 in her London home de ella on July 29, according to a death notice published in UK newspaper The Daily Telegraph.

speaking to The Telegraph In 2021, Lady Butter revealed how she first came to know the Queen as a child and opened up about their time together in the 1st Buckingham Palace Company of Girl Guides, when it launched in 1937.

“(Buckingham Palace) got hold of some girls to be part of the thing to make it more fun,” she said.

“In the Guides and the Brownies it was a real mixture, which was really nice, some friends, friends of (the family), and all the people in the Royal mews, their children, they were Brownies and Guides. Just a normal sort of pack really.”

According to the article, the Queen also used to swim with Lady Butter, who once described the monarch as having a “very good sense of humor which has gone on for all her life”.

Lady Butter was born in Edinburgh in 1925 to Sir Harold Wernher and the great-great granddaughter of Russia’s Nicholas I, Countess Anastasia “Zia” Torby.

Her death notice read: “Myra Alice, Lady (CVO) died peacefully on Friday 29th July 2022 in London aged 97. Beloved wife of the late Major Sir David Butter. Adored mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. Private family funeral in Scotland”.

Ingrid Seward, author of the book Prince Philip Revealed, told magazine Newsweek: “Lady Butter was wonderful. She is a daughter of the Wernher family and the Queen and Philip were very, very friendly with them and so she was ella the Queen Mother”.

Her death is understood to come as another devastating blow to the Queen who lost her husband in 2021.

The Duke of Edinburgh, who had been married to the Queen for 73 years, died at Windsor Castle in June last year.

Following the Duke’s death, Lady Butter – who also had a longstanding friendship with her cousin, the prince – described Her Majesty’s sense of loss as “incalculable”.

He had dedicated his life to the Queen and sadly died just before his 100th birthday.

In the past the Queen regularly called the Duke her “constant strength” and “guide”.

The pair was described as “love matched” and married in 1947 at Westminster Abbey.

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Sports

Commonwealth Games 2022: Australian cycling handlebars, Matthew Glaetzer wins 1000m time trial gold in madness

Commonwealth Games 2022: Australian cycling handlebars, Matthew Glaetzer wins 1000m time trial gold in madness

We have just witnessed one of the most insane days to ever unfold in Aussie cycling with Matthew Glaetzer winning gold in the men’s 1000m time trial.

The Aussie team was expected to be wiped out from the medals when they were inadvertently sabotaged by their own team in another farcical equipment blunder unfolding just hours before the event.

AusCycling officials announced its handlebars for the event were not safe at the eleventh hour—forcing the Aussie riders to use inferior, bulkier, slower bars at the Lee Valley VeloPark.

Aussie cycling legend Katey Bates said the decision to use heavier, less aerodynamic handlebars could cost the riders up to 1.5 seconds in the event that takes 60 seconds to complete.

Nobody could have predicted what came next.

Despite the last-minute equipment sabotage, Glaetzer produced one of the great rides to take gold in the final ride of the event, knocking Aussie teammate Tom Cornish to silver.

A fifth Commonwealth Games gold medal taken Glaetzer equal with Aussie cycling icon Anna Meares for career gold medals won.

Aussie Matthew Richardson, who won gold in the men’s sprint on Monday, was relegated to fourth spot after Nicholas Paul took bronze for Trinidad and Tobago.

Richardson would almost certainly have won the bronze if able to use the handlebars he was expecting to.

It’s why Bates was absolutely stunned when Glaetzer powered to the gold medal.

“I cannot believe my eyes. I cannot believe what I’m seeing here,” she said.

“That was absolutely staggering. This is becoming the velodrome where records are broken and dreams are made.”

Earlier, an AusCycling review into the handlebars was only completed at the last minute. The review found the bars could not handle the force that the riders put through them, particularly when exploding off the start line.

Aussie legend Scott McGrory said the decision was a “devastating blow” to the Aussie trio.

“It’s a major hindrance,” he told Channel 7.

“The aerodynamic bars are so much faster.

“It’s a devastating blow for the Australians.”

AusCycling executive general manager of performance Jesse Korf spoke to Channel 7 before the event and defended the late decision. He said the review was started earlier this year, but could not have been completed earlier because of testing issues with its suppliers and other officials.

Korf said in a statement released by AusCycling the decision was made after testing revealed the riders would generate significantly more power than the bars could handle.

“We acknowledge that this decision has created a degree of disappointment, but the riders and the broader team understand that safety is our top priority,” Korf said.

“We have made significant changes to procedures, team structure and process since the Tokyo Olympics and this decision is reflective of a new and thorough approach to long-term engineering excellence, competitive success, and athlete welfare.”

Bates said the decision would be a hammer blow to the Aussies, who have dedicated their lives for moments like this one.

“We’re talking 1 second to 1.5 seconds, it won’t just cost a gold medal, it will cost a medal,” she said.

“That’s devastating. When you look back on your career, these are the moments that define it, for good or for bad. I really feel for the athletes, to be honest.”

McGrory suggested there were other options that the Aussies could have used, including equipment readily available at the track, rather than going with such heavy handlebars.

Richardson was the first Aussie to hit the track and he left McGrory and Bates stunned when he shot straight to the top spot on the time sheets with a 1:00.152.

Tom Cornish then pushed into first place with a 1:00.036.

Glaetzer then took the gold when he smashed to 59,505.

Glaetzer was on Monday robbed of a bronze medal after being relegated in the third race of the bronze medal event following marginal contact with his opponent in the men’s sprint race.

The handlebar disaster in Birmingham comes after the Aussie equipment failed at the Tokyo Olympics.

Richardson was seen looking distressed after his ride and collapsed to the floor while appearing to suffer from cramping and other issues. Bates suggested he was about to vomit from the exhaustion and build up of lactic acid.

It was truly an unforgettable day in Australian cycling.

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