The British are identified for maintaining a “stiff higher lip,” and Queen Elizabeth II was no exception. However those that have been near the queen knew that she had a fantastic sense of humour beneath her serene and stoic public picture.
All through her lengthy life, there have been many instances when she let down her guard, so to talk, whether or not that be delighting at animals or cracking jokes with world leaders.
In honour of Britain’s longest-reigning monarch and Canada’s longest-serving head of state, we bear in mind among the sweetest and funniest moments within the extraordinary lifetime of Queen Elizabeth II.
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Table of Contents
A corgi lover for all times
— Lisa Sheridan/Studio Lisa/Hulton Archive/Getty Photographs
Ever since she was a younger woman, Elizabeth has been captivated by corgis — a love that lasted her total life.
When she was only a princess, Elizabeth fell in love with the Royal Household’s first corgi, Dookie, who was adopted in 1933.
The primary corgi she ever owned herself was named Susan, and was gifted to her by her father in 1944 for her 18th birthday. Susan can be the start of a big household tree of corgis, over 30 in complete, bred by the queen.
— Anwar Hussein/Getty Photographs
The queen additionally bred corgis with dachshunds to create dorgis. This lovable mix-breed was maybe the results of an unplanned tryst between one in every of Elizabeth’s corgis and Princess Margaret’s dachshund. The sisters mated the canine once more and greater than 10 dorgis have been bred through the years.
In 2015, it was reported that the queen was planning to finish her corgi breeding efforts as a result of she didn’t wish to depart any behind after her loss of life.
— Julian Parker/UK Press by way of Getty Photographs
When the queen died, she had 4 canine left: two corgis, a dorgi, and a cocker-spaniel. Possession of the canine will possible move to her successor King Charles III.
Banter with Bush
— Martin H. Simon-Pool/Getty Photographs
Queen Elizabeth wasn’t about to let then-President George W. Bush off the hook when he hilariously misspoke throughout a toast on the White Home.
In 2007, at a welcome ceremony for the queen, Bush mistakenly mentioned that Elizabeth had celebrated the U.S. bicentennial in 1776, when he ought to have mentioned 1976. The combination-up meant Bush had added 200 years to Queen Elizabeth’s age.
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Bush mentioned of the incident, “She gave me a glance that solely a mom might give a toddler.”
Two days later, the queen noticed her likelihood to get the previous president again. At a dinner hosted by the British ambassador, Elizabeth joked, “I puzzled whether or not I ought to begin this toast by saying, ‘Once I was right here in 1776 …’”
“Your Majesty, I can’t high that one,” Bush responded in his toast.
The enduring cow video
This hilarious video went viral in 2018, exhibiting the queen’s excited response to seeing a herd of cows being paraded as a part of her ninetieth birthday celebration. She factors to the animals and blurts out “cows” to her husband Prince Philip.
Queen Elizabeth was fairly the fan of cows, as she was with all animals, and bred the livestock herself. She stored the biggest herd of Sussex cows on the planet at Windsor fortress.
Teasing Trudeau
— Yui Mok/Getty Photographs
The primary time that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met Queen Elizabeth, she could have been bowled over by his boyish appears to be like. It additionally didn’t assist that Trudeau talked about in a toast to her on the gala for the Commonwealth Heads of Authorities Assembly in 2015 that he was the twelfth Canadian prime minister to carry workplace throughout her reign.
In response, Queen Elizabeth mentioned throughout a speech, “Thanks, Mr. Prime Minister of Canada, for making me really feel so outdated.”
All of the queen’s horses
The one factor that would rival the queen’s love of corgis was maybe her love of horses.
Elizabeth first began driving on the tender age of three when she began classes at Buckingham Palace Mews.
She was gifted her first pony a yr later, a Shetland named Peggy, by her father King George VI.
— Steve Parsons – WPA Pool/Getty Photographs
For her total life, Elizabeth was an avid equestrian and horse breeder and cherished cheering on her horses on the racetrack.
In reality, one in every of her favorite horses was reportedly a thoroughbred named Burmese, which was gifted to the queen by the RCMP.
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On the time of her loss of life, the queen was estimated to have over 100 horses in her royal stables. These horses had earned her round $10.5 million in prize cash through the years.
Claudia Joseph, an professional on the royals, predicts that Princess Anne and her daughter Zara, who have been each Olympic equestrians, will probably be concerned in making choices about what occurs subsequent to the queen’s troop of horses.
Cracking up Prince Harry
— Tim Graham Photograph Library by way of Getty Photographs
At a navy parade in 2006, the queen confirmed her cheeky facet by making her grandson crack up at an inopportune second.
Elizabeth was attending the Sovereign’s Parade at The Royal Navy Academy Sandhurst to see Prince Harry’s “passing-out ceremony,” the place he was formally commissioned as a military officer.
As Elizabeth walked down the road of newly minted officers, the troopers have been meant to maintain a impartial expression. Maybe the matriarch mentioned one thing or flashed a glance to her grandson as a result of Prince Harry couldn’t assist however bust out a smile as she handed.
— Dylan Martinez/AFP by way of Getty Photographs
Prince Harry served within the British Military for 10 years and served two excursions in Afghanistan.
Assembly Donna the Elephant
— Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Photographs
This lovable photograph, taken at a U.Ok. zoo in 2017, reveals Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip assembly Donna the elephant (and feeding her a few bananas whereas they have been at it).
The second was captured by royal photographer Chris Jackson and he mentioned that simply out of body have been just a few zookeepers who have been barely involved that the massive elephant would lurch ahead, longing for its subsequent banana from the queen.
Donna, fortunately, stored her composure.
Within the driver’s seat
— Bryn Colton/Getty Photographs
Queen Elizabeth might have been chauffeured round her total life however she selected a life within the driver’s seat.
At simply 19, Elizabeth volunteered to hitch the Auxiliary Territorial Service throughout World Conflict II, turning into the primary feminine member of the royal household to serve full-time within the armed forces.
She educated to turn into a mechanic and ambulance driver, incomes her the nickname “Princess Auto Mechanic” from the British press on the time. She was typically photographed and filmed servicing automobiles and driving vans.
— Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Photographs
After turning into queen, Elizabeth might have taken the again seat however she selected to maintain driving her total life.
She was regularly noticed chauffeuring household between Windsor and the Ascot Racecourse for the annual racing occasion. Elizabeth final drove herself to the Royal Ascot in 2021 the place she was photographed behind the wheel of a Jaguar X-Kind wagon.
Elizabeth’s fleet of automobiles is primarily made up of automobiles from British producers like Jaguar Land Rover, Daimler, and Vauxhall.
Cake slicing fiasco
— Chris Jackson/Getty Photographs
This was one other candy second caught on digicam by Jackson, the royal photographer. This photograph reveals the time when the queen burst out laughing along with her daughter Princess Anne when she obtained her knife caught in a cake whereas attempting to chop a ceremonial first slice.
The second befell on the 100-year anniversary of the Girls’s Institute in London in 2015.
Princess Anne was reportedly the one to dislodge the silver knife from the cake in the long run, which you’ll nonetheless see protruding of the cake within the photograph above.
Dropping the mic
Her Majesty definitely knew the right way to dish out some trash speak, whereas staying well mannered as ever.
In a promotional video for the 2016 Invictus Video games, Queen Elizabeth dropped the mic on then-President Barack Obama and First Woman Michelle Obama.
The video begins with Prince Harry receiving a feisty video message from the Obamas. Michelle asks, “Hey, Prince Harry, bear in mind once you instructed us to convey it on the Invictus Video games?”
“Cautious what you want for,” Barack replies as a soldier within the background mimes dropping a mic.
Prince Harry confirmed the video message to Queen Elizabeth who responded with, “Oh, actually, please.”
Sufficient mentioned.
Harry then drops a mic for his grandmother’s cool, restrained response.
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G7 antics
— Jack Hill/Getty Photographs
Even after the loss of life of her lifelong associate, Prince Philip, Queen Elizabeth nonetheless discovered moments of levity in her life and by no means misplaced her sense of humour.
Throughout a photo-op final yr on the 2021 G7 Summit hosted in Cornwall, the queen made among the strongest leaders on the planet crack up when she requested, “Are you purported to be trying as in case you’re having fun with your self?”
All those that cherished her will sorely miss Queen Elizabeth II. She was a loyal public servant with a sturdy sense of responsibility — however as we’ve seen, that didn’t cease her from having a little bit of enjoyable now and again.
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