Remembering the Queen's sense of fun
The Queen achieved so many incredible things during her reign including: being the longest reigning monarch, being a role model to so many, being a mechanic during World War Two (a role not often associated with women back in those times) and being admired and loved by a lot of the world. Another characteristic that made the Queen popular was her marvellous sense of humour. Just because she was royalty, didn’t mean that she couldn’t have an occasional laugh just like everyone else.
The Queen went on a visit to Fife in Scotland and found the beret’s that the soldiers were wearing incredibly amusing as she went on to ask when they were supposed to wear them and remarked that surely they would blow off in the wind. One of the soldiers cautiously answered telling the Queen that they’re supposed to wear them when they are “stationary.” This caused some of the other soldiers to giggle and the Queen began to laugh. This was a really lovely interaction and it showed that it doesn’t matter if your royalty or a soldier, you can still laugh about the littlest things.
The Queen was touring the Eden Project in Cornwall and was presented with a cake for her official Birthday. The garden was also being used to host world leaders for the G7 summit. At the end of the tour, the Queen was given the opportunity to cut her cake. Rather than use the traditional knife that was there, the Queen decided to take a “more unusual” approach and proceeded to attempt to cut the cake with a Ceremonial Sword. The room exploded with laughter after the Queen was told that there was a knife and she exclaimed, “I know there is!” After struggling to cut the cake even with assistance from Camilla, the Queen decided to use the knife after all.
David Attenborough was being toured around the gardens of Buckingham Palace by the Queen. As they were walking around admiring the gorgeous gardens, David Attenborough noticed a sun dial which had be placed under the shade of a tree. He explained the ineffectiveness of this and began to laugh. The Queen was quite confused as to why the sun dial was placed under the shade of
the tree and began to laugh as well. It turns out that the Queen did take David Attenborough’s advice and the sun dial was moved.
In 2012, for the London Olympics, there was a sketch with James Bond (Daniel Craig) in Buckingham Palace. As the shot changed to see the Queen’s face my Mum remembers, along with the rest of the nation, waiting in anticipation to see who would be playing the role of the Queen. As the camera panned round, it was actually the Queen. This was a complete shock to everyone watching and was so unexpected that you couldn’t help but laugh. This scene was secretly shot for the opening ceremony and I personally can’t think of a better way to start it off. The sketch did proceed to the Queen and James Bond jumping out of a plane but that of course wasn’t actually the Queen.
The final thing that stands out to me as one of the funniest and most heart warming moments was recently when it was the Queen’s 70th Jubilee Party. Everyone watched their screens in awe as we witnessed the moment that the Queen and another National Treasure, Paddington, sat down for tea. It was wonderful to see the Queen pull a marmalade sandwich out of her bag and tap her spoon on her teacup along to 'We Will Rock You'. For me and lots of the nation, this was a really magical moment and definitely made us laugh.
Throughout the Queen’s reign she hasn’t been shy to just be herself and not only was she known for her incredible achievements but also her fantastic sense of humour. Rest in peace Queen Elizabeth, you will never be forgotten.
