Last week, Queen Elizabeth II passed away at age 96. The queen was known for her sense of humor — according to The Washington Post, she had a “wicked sense of humor.” Here are some of her funniest moments.
The queen joking around with former President George W. Bush
When Queen Elizabeth II visited the United States in 2007, then-President George W. Bush accidentally stated that the queen had helped celebrate the U.S. bicentennial in 1776, rather than 1976. When the queen later began her toast, according to The Guardian, she said, “I wondered whether I should start this toast by saying, ‘When I was here in 1776 ...’” The audience burst out laughing.
The queen and the two American hikers
Richard Griffin, a former security guard for the queen, recounted a story in which he and the queen met two American hikers. He said that the two hikers did not recognize the queen and immediately began talking to her about their trip to the U.K. They asked her where she lived and she replied that she lived in London, but she had a holiday home on the other side of the hills.
The hikers asked her how long she had been coming there and she said that she had been coming there for 80 years. Then, the hikers paused and said, “Well if you’ve been coming up here for 80 years, you must have met the queen.” She cheekily replied, “I haven’t, but Dick here meets her regularly.” The hikers then asked him what the queen was like and he said, “Well she can be cantankerous at times, but she’s got a lovely sense of humor.”
After this, the hikers then asked to take pictures with the man who had met the queen. The queen took these pictures and then Griffin took pictures of them with the queen. She never revealed her identity to them, and after they walked away, she said, “I’d love to be a fly on the wall when he shows those photos to his friends in America.”
Queen Elizabeth II wins photobomb of the year
The queen won Today.com’s best photobomb of the year in 2014. Jayde Wells, Australian field-hockey Olympian, was taking a selfie with a friend in which the queen was seen smiling into the camera in the background.
The queen’s response to the Obamas
In a response to a video message from former President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama, the official Twitter account for the Prince and Princess of Wales shared a video of Prince Harry and the queen in 2016. The two were sitting on a couch watching a video of the Obamas, who said, “Remember when you told us to bring it at the Invictus Games? Careful what you wish for.”
The Invictus Games are headquartered in London and are a sports competition for injured and differently abled persons.
After watching the video, the queen says, “Oh really, please” and then Prince Harry stares at the camera and says, “Boom.”
Queen Elizabeth II insists on cutting cake with a sword
At the Eden Project lunch, the queen insisted on using a ceremonial sword instead of a knife to cut the cake. When she was asked if she knew there was a knife that she could use, she said, “I know there is! But this is something that is more unusual.”