Hillary Clinton remembered Queen Elizabeth II as “a woman who served with such honor and distinction” on Thursday, just hours after news broke of the longtime monarch’s death.
“We lost a woman who served with such honor and distinction from literally the time she was a child, until two days ago when she received the new prime minister,” Clinton told Variety at the New York premiere of “Gutsy,” her and daughter Chelsea Clinton’s new Apple TV+ docuseries. “And I was privileged to meet her and spend time with her. Probably one of the highlights of my time in public service was when I was secretary of state, staying in Buckingham Palace and talking with her about her gardens, which were a great love of hers, and actually walking around the gardens with her gardener and going to a white-tie dinner in the grand dining room. I had many really pleasant and wonderful conversations. She loved to ask questions, she was so lively and she’ll be missed.”
The then-first lady and president Bill Clinton met with Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip in November 1995 as part of a five-day European tour. The Clintons again visited the Queen at Buckingham Palace in 2000.
Based on Hillary and Chelsea Clinton’s book, “Gutsy,” debuts Friday and features the mother and daughter as they embark on “a thought-provoking journey to speak with pioneering women artists, activists, community leaders and everyday heroes who show us what it truly means to be gutsy.” Featured subjects in “Gutsy” include Kim Kardashian, Megan Thee Stallion, Dr. Jane Goodall, Gloria Steinem, Wanda Sykes, Amy Schumer, Goldie Hawn and Kate Hudson.
Back in June, during an event that took place amid Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee festivities, Clinton called the queen “a remarkable unifier and symbol for a long time” in U.K. history, according to the BBC. “In meeting her she is quite funny, quick to laugh or make a quip, she is very smart and she knows a lot,” Clinton told an audience at the South Shields Lecture, adding: “She restrains herself from interfering in government, but she can have a conversation about nearly anything – including classified material about advances in military weaponry that the U.K. government is considering.”
