I am a lucky man. I got to work with Laurence Olivier in my very first movie, & I got to go to the gallops with Henry Cecil. Both to me are the pinnacle of their respective arts. That is how highly I held Henry. Over the last year I got to know him a little better. We didn't meet often, but when I rode in my race at Newmarket last year, I went to watch Frankel gallop in the morning, joined Henry in his very fast Jag to go back for a coffee at Warren Place & then received what I would have to call, "A Royal Tour". He took me around the famous rose garden first, then the stable block, to see all the magnificent horses under his command, (I even had a chat with Frankel), & then around his house before finally having breakfast with him. The sword stick is something I'll never forget. He was so charming, so full of life. He had just come out of hospital after 5 days of chemo, so was feeling pretty battered, but you would never have know, & in fact, that just adds to his grace.
I can't count myself a proper, close friend, by any means, but I knew him & he knew me. That makes me very proud. I send much love and respect to Jane & his family.