A Tribute To Her Majesty

[@Malrog]

Malrog here. Thank you for featuring this puzzle (my first Simon feature!). I am pleased and honoured beyond words that I have been able to pay tribute to Her Majesty in this way. Your solve was lovely. As others have mentioned there was a bit more you could have done with geometry around the renban but, as you showed, it wasn't necessary to spot that. The shape of that line creates some interesting situations, and I think I'm going to try and explore it further in a future puzzle. Thank you again Simon ☺️

[@Ulija100]

Lovely puzzle, thank you. I spotted a little bit more around the renban also (C5R13 must be C37R2) but not sure it was what you were thinking either. In any case, will look out for more by you!

[@emilywilliams3237]

I really love this puzzle in every way - the logic and cleverness of it, but also the imagery. Thank you for creating it and sharing it with CTC and so with us all.

[@SephirothFenton1]

Thank you for the puzzle :).

[@olanmills64]

An absolutely shameful display from CtC and you for lionizing this truly horrible person

[@pouletbelette]

@@olanmills64 I wish there would be more "horrible" people like this in the world.

[@Ulija100]

Simon, on the one "slighly less kind" comment that sticks among the 10 "nice comments": many of us don't comment on most of the videos that we watch, often as we're a few days behind and have nothing to add beyond the comments already there, but in any case are hugely enjoying and appreciating your videos that have cheered us through the last few years. So for those 10 nice comments, please know there's 100+ appreciations from a large quiet group.

[@kr12a2y]

Here's to hoping that Simon and Mark continue ctc for 71 years!

[@OmegaMindriel]

Nah. They're immortal. Those gentlemen will crack the cryptic until the sun shines.

[@Thedudeman8282]

The thought of someone being unkind to Simon really boils my blood. I haven't met a human who seems as genuinely kind as you since my Grandmother passed.

[@longwaytotipperary]

What the world needs now is great heaps of kindness!!

[@emilywilliams3237]

@@longwaytotipperary Hear hear.

[@joakimljnes3711]

Thank you so much Simon! This took me by a complete surprise, and really made me very happy. I follow your unfathomable sudoku encoding skills closely, and could not ask for a better birthday gift

[@bobblebardsley]

Happy birthday! I hope you have a very happy weekend.

[@inspiringsand123]

Rules: 08:17 Let's Get Cracking: 10:10 Simon's time: 32m50s Puzzle Solved: 43:00 What about this video's Top Tier Simarkisms?! The Secret: 2x (10:34, 10:47) Bobbins: 1x (33:27) And how about this video's Simarkisms?! Ah: 17x (08:28, 13:45, 14:13, 15:30, 22:02, 24:44, 24:44, 25:25, 27:18, 28:02, 28:17, 28:23, 32:21, 33:06, 33:42, 36:19, 38:21) By Sudoku: 11x (15:20, 15:22, 16:37, 21:13, 21:54, 22:05, 23:26, 30:30, 32:59, 33:11, 33:13) Obviously: 10x (00:20, 01:19, 01:27, 01:49, 01:56, 03:09, 03:14, 26:56, 27:08, 32:33) Hang On: 9x (15:46, 20:51, 21:02, 21:02, 28:24, 28:32, 31:04, 31:29, 39:39) Clever: 6x (08:25, 40:37, 40:43, 41:14, 42:53, 43:28) Beautiful: 5x (28:54, 28:56, 40:35, 42:50, 43:19) In Fact: 5x (11:50, 15:54, 15:55, 17:48, 23:58) Sorry: 4x (21:51, 25:28, 37:00, 43:51) Lovely: 4x (29:04, 29:57, 29:59, 42:56) Extraordinary: 4x (00:33, 00:36, 04:48, 43:45) Pencil Mark/mark: 4x (10:28, 26:17, 32:10, 32:30) I've Got It!: 2x (28:56, 28:58) Good Grief: 1x (17:35) What on Earth: 1x (34:54) Useless: 1x (25:32) Incredible: 1x (01:14) Shouting: 1x (04:18) Famous Last Words: 1x (41:55) Stunning: 1x (43:38) Whoopsie: 1x (17:19) We Can Do Better Than That: 1x (25:58) Alexa: 1x (03:26) Progress: 1x (17:01) What Does This Mean?: 1x (29:45) Have a Think: 1x (28:43) Nature: 1x (05:24) Most popular number(>9), digit and colour this video: Ten (7 mentions) Six (83 mentions) Purple (14 mentions) Antithesis Battles: High (7) - Low (3) Higher (6) - Lower (4) White (2) - Black (0) Row (14) - Column (12) FAQ: Q1: You missed something! A1: That could very well be the case! Human speech can be hard to understand for computers like me! Point out the ones that I missed and maybe I'll learn! Q2: Can you do this for another channel? A2: I've been thinking about that and wrote some code to make that possible. Let me know which channel you think would be a good fit!

[@avitalalef9947]

Wow i cant blueve you wrote down every AH ^^

[@highpath4776]

@@avitalalef9947 thankfully its an AI analysis program.

[@cathybryant5119]

Me: (getting choked up during Simon's intro) My husband: (concerned) What are you watching? Me: A Sudoku puzzle.

[@andrzejzurawski4895]

I did most of the puzzle in

[@bitzibaerlie]

Took me almost 2h40m to fully solve it. Figured out the German Whispers quite easily (except for that stubborn 2|4 cell Simon complained about). Spotted some nice Renban geometry as well. Narrowed down the diagonals. But then I got stuck for the longest of times. I did not find the 1|2 pair in row three first. But every digit I found I was sure would solve the puzzle but I only seemed to figure out unhelpful cells. Was still a lot of fun and I was happy when I finally managed to defeat it.

[@th.nd.r]

Beauty of a puzzle. Incredible how something of this quality can be created this quickly. Well done Malrog and Simon! And well done Mark and Simon on the construction of that cryptic crossword clue!

[@randysavage1011]

One of the most aesthetically beautiful setups Ive ever seen. RIP from the States

[@bradleyemery]

I spent an embarrassing amount of time thinking I'd found a deadly pattern before remembering the outside arrow. Best wishes for those in the kingdom

[@briancaster2876]

I totally did the same thing. Which is ridiculous considering how many times I checked the math on that 19 clue, before I forgot that clue existed...

[@sambmortimer]

Did it in 96 minutes! I wish I could say that was on purpose, but no, I'm just not that good at sudoku

[@anwarabdelazeem2764]

Rest assured it is not just you Simon .. it is all of us. Psychologists posit that we have a "negativity bias" with supporting evidence from research. we tend to notice the negatives more than the positives, but more importantly, it seems our brains give more weight to negative stimuli when compared to positive stimuli of the same magnitude. The problem is we also tend to dwell on the negatives and give a lot more weight to negative criticism than positive feedback. The phenomenon is there, we are not sure why it exists (an interesting hypothesis suggests that it's genetic, a long time ago those who had the negativity bias and were able to spot a predator on a beautiful summer morning managed to live and pass on their genes). I know that may not be helpful, but I always find that understanding is the first step. This is the typical reaction to negative criticism but with awareness of our cognitive biases, we can overcome them through practice. It was a great solve of a great puzzle and I do not think it was a weird video. I think it was a thoroughly enjoyable video that is fitting for the situation. May she rest in peace. Sorry for the wall of text. Thank you for sharing Roosevelt’s words, I had not heard them before but will surely remember them. To the birthday person, I hope you and your friend feel better and can move past this experience (Simon was not confident in how he pronounced the name, so I surely shouldn’t try to write it).

[@puppyjessicabunny]

Thank you for sharing that speech from Theodore Roosevelt. I worked really hard on something and I presented it today, and the main comment from my professor was nitpicking something incredibly trivial. I really needed to hear that quote. RIP Queen Elizabeth. Keep up the great videos! I love watching you solve these sudoku puzzles.

[@rosiefay7283]

Thank you, Malrog, for this glorious tribute! It's amazing that you could've dished up a sudoku so fast and with so many elements pertaining to our former Queen. I echo what Simon said at 43:04. If nobody else's going to say it, I suppose I will: Queen Elizabeth reigned for 70 years; she became Queen in 1952 and was crowned in 1953.

[@sarahnash7174]

Wow that Roosevelt quote spoke to me. Thank you, I needed that! Also left me wanting to give Simon a massive hug! 💜💜

[@longwaytotipperary]

I agree with both of those statements! I think we could all use a hug 🤗

[@christinalind2034]

Tak!

[@CrackingTheCryptic]

Thanks so much Christina!!

[@emilywilliams3237]

Simon, Simon, I always like your videos. This one really touched a chord. The Roosevelt quote, the words about Queen Elizabeth II and her death, the tribute puzzle (wow, Malrog, fantastic) - and a lovely solve. I really loved this video. Loved it. Thank you. (Edited to add: and that was a lovely cryptic clue. No, I did not solve it myself, but when you explained it I understood it, and find it poignant indeed. Thank you!)

[@stevel875]

Incredible puzzle. Something Simon missed in it: at 27:15 Simon concludes that the purple line contains 34567. In particular it must contain the digit at the junction of the thermo. I thought that was very clever construction when I saw that during my solve, and it also led to a quite beautiful resolution of the 19 diagonal clue some considerable time later (equivalent to where Simon's solve is at 39:18), where I had either 17 or 53 as remaining options on that diagonal in box 3, but either way it totals to 8 leaving r1c6 as a definite 5. Whilst Simon found the relevant interactions between those digits a different way, I think he missed out on fully appreciating it...

[@80nomads74]

A beautiful tribute! As a new viewer, I'm very glad I found this channel. My father also loves sudoku so when I saw you sell a book, I knew I had to get him one. I think this is going to make his day :)

[@tjsmusic4275]

I always conclude my night with Ctc, thank you for all that you do!

[@Ruddigore]

A lovely tribute puzzle and an excellent solve by Simon.

[@balkthor]

Feeling more confident lately so I thought I'd revisit an older one. I was able to knock most of it out within ten minutes or so, but I must've stared at it for almost a half hour trying to find the very final steps. Such a struggle to finish! But very vindicating once I did. 43:46 for me.

[@briancaster2876]

This is one of the harder ctc puzzles I've ever completed. It took me 105:04 but I got it done!

[@puritan745]

What a wonderful tribute, thank you Malrog!

[@darrenbent7601]

What an amazing tribute, quickly assembles, and an amazing puzzle too. I'm truly amazed that an author could come up with this so quickly. Kudos to the publisher, and Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will be sadly missed, even to those from the outer regions of the Commonwealth here in New Zealand.

[@TheShadowplayer]

Two things Simon: yes it was a very different intro including this speech, but your kind voice reading it (to me), really meant a lot on this day of struggle...

[@penningmeestercgkdelft9159]

44:10 for me. A beautiful puzzle and a great tribute to the Queen indeed, and almost unbelievable that it was put together in such short notice. And yet it is fairly approachable! The fact that r2c4 and r2c6 see the entirety of the 7-cell Renban crown was pretty practical. :-)

[@spacemono5419]

Well honestly, I really love to watch Sudoku on this channel and learn a lot and I have noticed a few rude comments on here about missing 'easy' clues and although some of them may be jokes, it seems some people forget that you are not a computer and can sometimes miss things on the Sudoku , I'm sorry people are rude like that! However, i would have to disagree with the sentiment that there is a wrong time to criticize or speak negatively on the queen. For many, the queen and monarchy represents and helped maintain or create, the oppression, colonization, brutalization, murder, and pillaging of them, their ancestors or country. So it's only natural that they respond to this news or basically any news about the queen/ monarchy with negative feelings/criticisms and do not feel a need to mourn. Just pointing it out, that people are not critical of the queen because of some sort of deep hatred they inherently have but because of the atrocities they have seen happen to their own people during the queen's reign and in general with the monarchy .

[@emilywilliams3237]

I realize that I am one of the people who has suggested that this is not the time - but maybe the better way to express myself is that this is not the place for such comments (and maybe particularly at this time). I support the views that people have based on their own and their nation's experiences, and hope that they can find constructive places to express them. I think that it would have been odd if two British people (Simon and Mark) had not done tribute puzzles today in recognition of the death of their queen. I don't think that this makes this channel's comments the place for reactions to the queen's reign - at this particular time. That was my point, not to downplay anyone's beliefs or feelings. Just wishing that this particular place was not the place where they chose to express them.

[@Qrofol]

I just find it really weird that people choose to voice their criticisms (or choose not to stay quiet) when a person has just passed - this happens almost every time a slightly famous person dies. Like, what is the goal? Why? The dead person doesn't care about the criticism, so it must be aimed at the living, right? In which case you are causing upset and bad feelings to people who might be grieving the dead person. Are you saying that they are bad people and should feel bad for grieving the deceased? Or that they should stop grieving because that person has done some bad things? It seems absurd. No matter how horrible a person is, it is likely that they were important to someone and that someone is now dealing with the loss. So all you are really achieving by publicly proclaiming your joy for someone's passing is to add to the pain of some, most likely, innocent people who are currently dealing with a loss of a loved one, friend etc. Seems super callous and shows a huge lack of empathy.

[@emilywilliams3237]

@@Qrofol You have said this well, and are expressing my feelings also. Thanks, Qrofol.

[@highpath4776]

I think you have to look a lot a the words of reconcillation, recompense and future and other posititive inclusive actions of a lot of the British Crown , that Elizabeth has put in statements on visits and broadcasts. For oppression today try china, some middle east countries ( monarchys and republics / califdoms) , some African countries of those from the wrong tribe/belief.

[@snr0n]

​@@emilywilliams3237 Sorry, why would it have been odd for CTC not to post a tribute? I know you don't think every English person supports the monarchy, so did you mean something more along the lines of feeling that they're expected to use their platform to acknowledge this sort of culturally significant event regardless of their personal feelings? Would you have felt it was inappropriate if Simon had briefly explained why he wasn't a royalist, and then gone on to enjoy this puzzle? Personally, I think that would have been absolutely fine, so I also don't object to seeing the same sentiment expressed in the comments. People are capable of more emotional complexity than you or Qrofol seem to want to give them credit for! 🙂 I can't speak to the motivations of individual commenters, but there's no inherent logical connection between vocalising negative feelings about someone and implying that others should not be grieving them. It's even entirely possible for someone to think the monarchy is a concept that has no place in a modern society, yet still feel grief regardless - I doubt there are many viewers of this channel who'd remember a world without Queen Elizabeth, and for many people, grieving is a very natural response to change. Change is also a good opportunity for people to reflect on whether they simply felt a sort of habituated fondness for a familiar symbol, or whether they support the royal family on principle and will continue to do so. If it's the latter, I'm not sure why hearing that other people feel differently would be shocking or upsetting to anyone - it's just a given that people have different views on these things, and being able to hear a variety of opinions is healthy rather than harmful. As for whether anyone thinks being in favour of the monarchy makes someone a "bad person"... even if you believe that a practical morality is compatible with that kind of categorisation (the only thing I'm interested in putting in boxes is the digits 1-9 😉), surely people are generally confident enough in their values that the disapproval of a random stranger really shouldn't be a concern? I feel like people who are distressed by seeing comments expressing any kind of criticism must be struggling with a part of themselves that agrees with those points - after all, when you combine the current cost of living crisis with some sorely underfunded public services, I think most people would find it difficult to justify the fact that the royal family received a 17% pay rise this year, despite having been born into a wealth and privilege that already shields them from these issues. And for those who found the queen to be an inspiring or unifying figure, no doubt there's plenty of cognitive dissonance to be had when trying to reconcile these things. To me, that's a matter that should be dealt with on an individual internal level, rather than proscribing the expression of particular viewpoints in order to avoid discomfort. Arguing otherwise leaves the same kind of taste in my mouth as people who use grief as a smokescreen to silence gun reform discussions in the US after every mass shooting. As a longtime fan of Brené Brown (who's written at length about the kind of important experiences that are only possible when you lean into discomfort instead of away from it), I've always enjoyed that Roosevelt quote. Another favourite is Martin Luther King's description of the white moderate who "prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice." Just some food for thought!

[@myfyrmadocjones]

Rather ironic that the ER letters are German Whispers- very clever setting indeed.

[@voorth]

"Look, I'm as British as Queen Victoria!!" "So your father's German, you're half German and you married a German!?"

[@penningmeestercgkdelft9159]

Today we'll call them German Windsors then :-)

[@avitalalef9947]

Prince Philip Duke of Edinburgh have entered the chat: Sorry bout that :0

[@jessevennard2640]

I would honestly love to hear Simon narrating an audio book.

[@penningmeestercgkdelft9159]

"O my goodness me", Elrond replied, "the One Ring cannot be destroyed or disambiguated that easily, Gimli, son of Gloin. Bobbins!"

[@longwaytotipperary]

Ditto

[@jessevennard2640]

*Phistomefel Ring

[@emilywilliams3237]

@@penningmeestercgkdelft9159 Hilarious!

[@davidh.4944]

41:42. A very satisfying puzzle. Not too hard, and it kept you constantly on the move. The most satisfying kind of solve.

[@sebrofniloc]

A good puzzle. Thanks, Malrog! Went wrong on the first try and only solved it in the end with a sequence of protracted “what if”s. Coming back to the video to see how Simon unlocked the end-game!

[@denaheck1506]

I loved the quote. Great video. Thanks for the tribute. And the clever genius who made it.f

[@Sam_weiqi]

Impressive setting speed!

[@BrooksMoses]

The timer is claiming 19:10 for me, which seems quite strange given Simon's time; the days when I am faster than him are quite rare indeed. I appreciated the fact that the 19 clue was indeed needed at the end; it almost wasn't. Well set, particularly considering the short time to set it!

[@iceberg54321]

Not seeing he had a naked single in box 7 slowed him down a lot, plus not wanting to pencil mark too much. There were multiple ways to use logic to get to the solution in the puzzle, probably because it was constructed so quickly.

[@highpath4776]

@@iceberg54321 nothing wrong with multiple logic !

[@iceberg54321]

​@@highpath4776 It just makes it easier since there are different ways to solve it. Nothing wrong with it.

[@y_prime]

solved in 18:27 - didn't notice the cool r2c3/7 property for a while. great setting!

[@darranstyler]

I was 6 for the Silver Jubilee, for some reason I was dressed as the White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland, complete with white tights! I remember falling over at some point and grazing my knee and for the rest of the day was the red and white rabbit!

[@jenniferlenfestey5335]

What a great puzzle and a bit of a tricky solve for me. I wanted to finished before I went into the comments. What a great tribute, both in the puzzle and in Simon's words. As a citizen of the United States, the Queen's passing had effected me more than I anticipated, and I'll always fondly remember when she allowed our National Anthem to be played at the changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace in the days following 9/11. That was First Class! May God Rest the Queen

[@stevebaptista7938]

Beautiful speech at 5:58, absolutely beautiful!

[@cjjenson8212]

My queen my whole life. I feel as empty as if one of my family is gone. Yank presidents come and go but my temporal leader has been forever. God saved our Queen!🇬🇧

[@BeastModeMaths]

Woop woop! Finally completed the puzzle in 100:40. I needed one hint from Simon at 29 minutes about getting the numbers on the purple line.

[@afrayedknot81]

Here’s some cute logic that could have been used as soon as you got r1c5=1: where do r2c3 and r2c7 go in box 2? That forces one of them to be a 1, which forces the renban to be 1-7

[@jonaclausson6698]

Well done Simon, well done! Everything!

[@wariolandgoldpiramid]

very good puzzle, and beautiful tribute. I'm a little disappointed that the Roman number II wasn't used as a clue (for example, it could have indicated a 1:2 ratio), but that's just a minor nitpick. I loved this puzzle, and it's really well designed, especially for something that was created so quickly. Good job, Malrog. And great solving from Simon, as always.

[@penningmeestercgkdelft9159]

Yes indeed, on the place it was situated it could have been a white kropki dot with the digits 4 and 5.

[@caliopefinn5121]

Not a fan of the Queen, but of course we send best wishes to her family and friends whom I am sure feel her loss. And I guess to those who had a para social relationship with her. my sympathies for your loss as well. The Puzzle was fun and a good puzzle.

[@pi5549]

I'm not a fan of the concept of monarchy (or any implementation of democracy). But AFAICS Britain just about manages to pull it off.

[@Swisswavey]

26 minutes here, lovely puzzle although the art sometimes made it difficult to see my pencil marks. A sacrifice that was well worth it. Thank you for creating and sharing it.

[@viceliag3916]

I have a friend named Joachim, if they're European they probably do the glottal sound like in the Jewish L'chaim (only word I can think of, a less shall we say attractive description is the sound of hocking up spit from the back of your throat) for the 'ch'. Language study brings me almost as much joy as your videos, so I thought I'd share because if my friend hadn't taught me I would never have figured that out! That aside, beautiful puzzle start to finish. Rest in peace, Ma'am.

[@MattYDdraig]

18:56 Feelings on the monarchy aside, this was a really well put together puzzle.

[@vikingslayer34]

Sorry for the loss of your Queen, Simon. She was a great person and I know she meant a lot to you and your fellow UK people.

[@disneian]

35:58 for me. As a tribute to the Queen, I have to try it myself. Beautiful puzzle!

[@pukiesco.6365]

An easier way to solve the crown (renban line): - R2c4 and r2c6 cannot appear on the renban. - R2c3 and r2c7 can only go in r1c5 and r3c5 in box 2 and are (13) in box 1 and (135) im box 3

[@Raven-Creations]

As a republican (not the US kind), I find it hard to get emotional over the death of an old, and obscenely privileged, lady. It can't have been easy having to attend all those banquets and travel to exotic places on behalf of the country, just because of who her dad was. I will however acknowledge that she executed her role impeccably. I was more emotional about this puzzle, which was quite amazing. To have come up with it so quickly, to integrate so many key features, and to be such a good puzzle as well, was quite some feat. When you first consider the crown, the sides have to be in R1/3C5, so you could pencil-mark 1345 into them at the start. Since one of them has to be 1, you know the line is 1-7, and 89 has to be in R2C4/6. You can tell which is which, and that resolves the 79 pair in box 8 (which you seemed oblivious to when considering the cage). It also gives you the 8 in R1C9, and 9 in R1C1.

[@SnugglesPlays]

This was a fun puzzle and I'm very glad you did a tribute puzzle to the Queen, I was hoping you would. She was indeed a remarkable lady who had a lovely smile and always knew the right thing to say to the nation in troubled/dark times. She is now forever reunited with her beloved Phillip. She will always be my Queen, there can only ever be one true Queen and she can never be replaced. Rest in eternal peace your Majesty. I am honoured to have been alive during your reign, what a wonderful reign it was. ❤😥🙂

[@yaycupcake]

Solved in 27:21. A good difficulty that wasn't a pushover but also wasn't absurdly difficult, and of course the fact it was themed and done so quickly is quite impressive.

[@Deadman7433]

Love this video and introduction

[@wbball15]

Condolences to the Windsor Family.

[@piarittersporn]

Very exciting puzzle.

[@sarahnash7174]

Malrog you're a genius! Thank you so much for doing this! Feeling gutted about our beautiful Queen, so wonderful to have a special tribute 💜

[@puritan745]

The very first thing I noticed was that r2c3 and r2c7 had to find their place in box 2 therefore in r1c5 and r3c5 - Having seen Simons solve I think this would have helped him greatly!!

[@stevel875]

Noticed that interaction from the other side a bit later. It led to a very beautiful resolution of the 19 clue near the end of the solve... (see my other comment)

[@puritan745]

@@stevel875 Yes, I found the same with the 19 clue :)

[@balthazarbeutelwolf9097]

Got it slightly faster than Simon (37 min) which is rare for me. What helped in the latter stages was colouring the 1/2 and 4/5 pairs - this avoided some of those long deduction chains Simon used in his solve.

[@olivier2553]

Only those who make nothing make no mistake. As a teen, I visited England in summer 77, I must still have jubilee memento somewhere.

[@shalaz1981]

I also solved this one in testing. It has really cool logic in it. Simon worked around it, but asking where R3C5 appears on the Renban limited the 19 LK as well.

[@CoolerQ]

58:32, beautiful puzzle!

[@troymcdougal9010]

The way I figured out the 19 diagonal is to notice that whatever went in R3C5 had to go either in R2C3 or R2C7. That limits the digits available on the 19 line.

[@joaogui1]

The 19 and 52 also mark when the Queen ascended to the throne, and house is German and the E and R are German Whispers

[@ApesAmongUs]

Before I saw the rules, I was thinking "come on German whispers".

[@SnugglesPlays]

She was actually crowned Queen in 1953, not 1952.

[@joaogui1]

@@SnugglesPlays That's why I said ascended to the throne and not crowned Queen

[@SnugglesPlays]

@@joaogui1 yes, but you have to ascend to the throne in order to be crowned as you are crowned on the throne. I think what you mean is that constitutionally she instantly became Queen in 1952 upon the death of her Father. However, in 1953, she then ascended the throne and was crowned Queen officially. Hope that makes sense!

[@richardfarrer5616]

It took me far too long to solve as I forgot about the diagonals. One small simplification of Simon's line was to work out that C5R1,3 had to be the two values on the crown outside of box 2. Once I did get remember the diagonals that restricted the possibilities for the 19 without needing the chain Simon used.

[@Rose-ou2xj]

I didn't expect to be as sad as I am. It's bizarre, I feel like a great aunt has died. I'm happy to see a tribute to her on my comfort channel.

[@benphelan88]

The Roosevelt quote reminds me of the monologue from Birdman, where Michael Keaton talks to the theatre critic in the bar. If you don’t know the film, check it out, a tremendous work of art.

[@levb258]

A beautiful puzzle, and a really touching commemoration.

[@DarrenNakamura]

Finished in 81:24. I got very stuck in the late solve before I realized that the two unclued cells in box 2 saw all of the cells on the renban, and were therefore the two digits missing from the string of seven.

[@brandonhafeli866]

I live near Oxford High School (yes, the one from last November). There is a plaque with that Roosevelt quote overlooking the athletic field there.

[@jurjenvanderhoek316]

It is very easy to deduce that r4c3 must be a 7. If it would be 9, then there would be two 67-pairs at r8c3 and r8c6 (both high numbers on the German whispers-line). And that would require three 12-pairs in row 8, which is impossible.

[@Volvoman90]

Great puzzle. Just a minor gripe - 1952 was when she became queen, but she wasn't coronated until 1953.

[@Rach881101]

37:04 for me. Lovely tribute to the Late Queen.

[@sjm6280]

Always quality content in this channel (sudoku and not-sudoku related), emotive, thought-provoking, with great class. Thank you

[@SephirothFenton1]

A wonderful puzzle, the only relationship in the puzzle that I thought was beautiful that Simon missed was the relationship between the outside corners of the crown (R2, C3 & C7) and where they go in box 2, since you know 7/9 digits end up on the line and the 8 and 9 are ruled out, it leaves only the digits on the bulb and intersection in those positions. (Sorry if I am unable to articulate this clearly)

[@chrisg6597]

I believe that today is International Sudoku Day (9/9). I don't know if Simon or Mark had any special Sudoku's to celebrate this day lined up, but this tribute to Her Majesty by sudoku on this particular day seems a very fitting gesture.

[@markbennet9058]

Wonderful clue and excellently read quotation. I notice so often things which might have been done better. But with those puzzles I have solved myself I notice also how often Simon and Mark make progress at points where I am stuck or clueless - and there are very many more of those (9 or 10 to one would be a representative ratio ...)

[@Coyotek4]

40:24 was my solving time Wonderful tribute!

[@JohnRandomness105]

Having broken the puzzle twice, I probably shouldn't advise -- but there is an X-wing in 1s that might help in column 7.

[@Ycesugho]

The 7 in r9c2 was available very early on, was shouting at the screen when Simon just ignored it!

[@LornaM2304]

Beautiful words from Simon, thank you for this lovely video commemorating our Queen 💜

[@Kirbyfan87827]

Finished in 46:11.

[@logiciananimal]

Neat puzzle.

[@gd_5526]

I cant believe the negative comments on here. Its disappointing. This was a lovely tribute. Thank you.

[@SnugglesPlays]

I know, those people are all absolute idiots and morons. We should all report negative comments about the Queen so they hopefully will be removed.

[@darleneofthetallpines5742]

A lovely tribute. Thanks to all who contributed.

[@B1GB1RDB4G3L]

Love u simon and mark

[@josephbentley7780]

68:22 for me, thanks for the puzzle

[@alyssawarrick22]

I was hoping for such a puzzle. Sending respects from across the pond.

[@KittSpiken]

Simon by my accounts, you are a proper English Gentleman. My heart goes out to your nation in this melancholic time. The queen is dead, God save the king.

[@Gonzalo_Garcia_]

14:34 for me. Nice puzzle!

[@pelahnar4]

I'm hoping to get through most, if not all, of the 500k puzzles before the stream about it (so that I both don't have to spoiler myself, but can watch the stream). I was getting so invested in the puzzle I was working on that I kept ignoring my phone's warning to charge it and it literally turned off when I was about to finish. Actually, I thought I _was_ finished, but it didn't tell me I was right. So, maybe I was further off from solving it than I thought, but I can't check now. Because my phone is charging.

[@bkaozzz]

37:18, super fun puzzle even though I got stuck in twice

[@thepigeonman_]

Long live the queen. May she rest in peace

[@bruceh8043]

Finish in 35:19. Rest in Peace to the Queen.

[@emryslee]

3:27 Alexa, now is not the time.

[@TmOnlineMapper]

What do those numbers in the cryptic clue mean?

[@RichSmith77]

(4,7) - Answer is a four letter word followed by a 7 letter word.

[@TmOnlineMapper]

@@RichSmith77 thanks!

[@jussikuusela7345]

German whispers for the Saxe-Coburg line.

[@ryboits75]

I find it interesting that the 8 and the 9 that broke the puzzle also correlate to the day of her death