TEN TIMES THE QUEEN SHOWED HER WICKED SENSE OF HUMOUR...
Despite a 70-year reign of consummate duty, it turns out that the late Queen Elizabeth loved a good old mishap - to add some variety to the royal routine.
That’s according to no less an authority than Her Majesty's former aide, Samantha Cohen, who was interviewed recently for an Australian newspaper.
‘The Queen had no ego, she was comfortable in herself, yet she loved it when things went wrong,’ she explained to Melbourne-based Herald Sun.
‘If a cake was not cutting or a plaque didn’t unveil, because everything was so organised, it spiced her life up,’ said Ms Cohen, known by the Queen as Samantha the Panther for her ferocious work ethic.
For all that regal decorum, Her Majesty had a sharp sense of humour – devilment, even – and seemed to relish making others laugh, in fact, as these rather surprising video clips make clear…
Who are you, then?
Undaunted by her regal presence in 2000, these Australian nursery-aged children seemed to leave the Queen a little flummoxed, temporarily, at least.
But not as confused as they were: ‘what’s your name?’ was the question of the moment. At least everyone else was laughing.
A moo-ving moment for her 90th
Famous for her love of dogs and horses, it was the bovine species that brought out Her Majesty’s inner child during celebrations for her 90th birthday in 2016.
That’s the way to do it!
When presented with a large cake for slicing at a lunch engagement in 2021, the Queen demonstrated an unexpected sense of mischief by choosing to do the job with a large, scary and somewhat unwieldy sword.
Yes, there was a knife available. ‘But this is more unusual,’ said her Majesty, warming to the task.
The Trump man cometh?
Not everyone finds The Donald a source of mirth, but Her Late Majesty certainly cracked a smile in 2018 when the foliage around her started shaking to the sound of helicopter.
‘It sounds like President Trump,’ she deadpanned to David Attenborough as they toured the Buckingham Palace gardens.
Not you again
There was an odd moment at a reception for Trump’s 2019 visit to Great Britain, when the Queen appears to upbraid her daughter, Anne. ‘Who, me?’ asks the Princess Royal.
It turned out that her mother was scoping the next guest in the queue to shake her hand.
Budge up, can’t you?
Queen Elizabeth’s good natured humour was to the fore again in 1985 when six former Prime Ministers gathered at Downing Street with Margaret Thatcher – and tried to squeeze into the same photograph.
What a lot you got
The queen had a good chuckle when meeting members of the Canadian armed forces in 2021. This was the first time she had returned to Windsor from Balmoral, following the death of Prince Philip earlier that year.
Her Majesty seemed tickled to encountering one serviceman with so many medals they barely fitted on to his chest.
Horsing around
This Shetland pony, Cruachan IV, showed few inhibitions at Sterling Castle when the monarch approached with a tasty bunch of flowers in 2017.
Hiding them behind her back, an amused Queen explained that she’d seen it all before…
My turn, Paddington…
The whole world laughed when Her Majesty turned comedienne in the now-famous clip from her Diamond Jubilee celebrations in 2022. Fumbling in her handbag, she pulled out… comedy gold.
The name’s Elizabeth, Elizabeth Rex
The marmalade sandwich moment was surpassed only by the Queen’s performance for the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics when, to global astonishment, she joined James Bond – Daniel Craig - in a helicopter, and leapt out!
Sort of…