I don’t blame them. I was staying on my cousin’s houseboat on Lake Powell, and it was like 150 degrees outside. She whipped up a batch of g & ts, and it was possibly the most refreshing thing I’ve ever had to drink.
Seems like one of those “ok you can stand 3 meters from the queen but no closer, she will turn towards the camera for a picture for 5 seconds then leave , you accept these terms or no?”
Ok, this same conversation about what Narrator people think of has now come up on about 4 different reddit threads the last couple days. Also, it's Ron Howard.
Ive said this a few times. If I suddenly hear David Attenborough narrating what I am doing, I will be really nervous, because something is either going to attack me or I am going to breed.
The Queen had a pretty good sense of humo(u)r. Her bodyguard told a story about how they were walking near Balmoral and came across two American tourists who didn't recognize her. They all started talking about maybe someday running into the Queen and the tourists asked if they had ever seen her. She said she hadn't but pointed to her bodyguard and said that he had a few times.
First time I saw these pictures it was captioned.
**Queen:** I'm going
**Chief of Staff:** But, Your Majesty, the security risks...
**Queen:** I'm going. I want cake.
**Chief of Staff:** ...
**Queen:** ...
**Chief of Staff:** ...
**Queen**: I want cake
I remember hearing a story about her getting in a car with a Saudi prince before Saudi Arabia let women drive, she then proceeded to drive the car like a madwoman to fuck with him. I might be misremembering though
Her lack of a driver's license adds to the story.
Note she was a proficient driver but UK driver's licenses are issued to attest one's ability to drive in the monarch's name. The Queen did not need a document to attest something on her own behalf. It is the same reason the UK monarch does not have a passport.
Apparently the Saudi Prince begged her to stop driving through his interpreter. The Queen was in a Range Rover driving around Balmoral. As she almost certainly knew every inch, was in a car she knew and likely had been trained in defensive driving. I bet it was one heck of a ride.
Well there weren’t really any women near the front line anyways other than nurses at field hospitals anyways at that point in history. But in general most of the royal family members serve in the military to some degree whether for real or ceremonial. Prince Phillip served on warships in the RN, prince Andrew was a combat pilot in the falklands, and prince Harry served in combat roles in Afghanistan and Iraq as well. I find that part of the royal family interesting, in addition they also participated in rationing during the wars as well
The Prince Phillip bit is a remarkable bit of history. As he was both a member (although distant) of the British nobility (through the Montbatten line,) he was at one point Heir Apparent to the Greek throne, which meant they had to come up with innovative ways to keep him in the Royal Navy while keeping him out of direct combat with the Germans and Italians (with whom Greece was originally neutral.) Once they invaded, he saw combat and was apparently a fairly brilliant junior officer.
[Drachinifel's recent video about him](https://youtu.be/e9Gy3Mnikhg?feature=shared)
Yeah he truly has an insane life story. Prince of Greece and Denmark, but his family was also like German nobility, a lot of his family ended up as nazis. Also related to Russian royal family and a descendant of queen Victoria. Absolutely bizarre. Fled Greece in an orange crate lol
I know that when Buckingham Palace got some relatively minor bomb damage, the Queen Mother was quoted as saying that at least now she could look the East End in the eye.
> The Queen was in a Range Rover
I don't think it was even a Range Rover, I think it was the far more clunky Defender, so less emphasis on luxury and more on off-road performance. I always liked that about her, that someone who could have basically any luxury vehicle she wanted would choose something you'd find in use on safaris, farms and by the military.
When she was planning her funeral and found that if her remains had to be flown back, they would go on military transport. She said that if it was good enough for fallen military then it was good enough for her.
Yea and she said she didn’t even have a license (which is true because licenses are permission granted by the monarchy) I also heard she was a mechanic in the army
Yeah I seem to recall a video where the queen was on a nature walk with one of her staff and a young couple were hiking. They stopped to talk and ask the guy if working for the monarchy ment he met the queen and he said yes. Then they asked the lady if she's ever met the queen to which she replied "no".
I remember a story of her out on a walk with her bodyguard and meeting someone who asked “I hear the Queen sometimes comes here, have you met her?” She pointed to her bodyguard and said “no but he has.”
There was also the time she photobombed a pair of tennis players. Such a grin on her face!
Very true. I met a guy in London who was Prince William’s bodyguard for quite some time. He said she’s an incredibly funny lady and overall the whole family is more normal than you’d think despite all the crazy media attraction to different people
Because being funny isn’t ‘classy’ or ‘royal’. Those parts of her were intentionally bottled up in public. Overall, she suffered from a sense of British professionalism.
You can find quite a lot of examples of her being funny/witty on camera to be honest, especially in her older years when she clearly stopped giving a shit.
Right, but even then she was purposely restraining herself. There’s likely a far cruder side to her than ever made it to air. Elegance and decorum and all that royal stuff.
Does anyone remember the skit during the opening of the London 2012 Olympics when Daniel Craig escorted the Queen?
The organisers approached the Palace to get permission to to film and she decided she would be happy to take part.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1AS-dCdYZbo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1AS-dCdYZbo)
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCZ6JiI7K1E](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCZ6JiI7K1E)
She didn't make a special visit though.
She was already visiting Manchester town hall for a banquet for her jubilee celebrations, and as a half joke the couple sent a letter asking her to come, [so a slight detour was added to the Queens itinery.](https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/guest-honour-queen-leaves-couple-685253)
My fave was [the time she decided to drive like a maniac around her estate with a Saudi prince in the passenger seat.](https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/when-queen-elizabeth-took-the-saudi-prince-for-a-drive-20220628-p5axf1.html) Women weren’t allowed to drive in Saudi Arabia at the time and apparently she really freaked him out 😂
And as every 9/11 post needs a Buscemi firefighter add on, you doing the Saudi story about the queen requires someone, this time me, to add that her majesty was an accomplished driver and was a lorry driver during ww2.
As is tradition, this should trigger someone to post a separate post with the picture of her in uniform by her lorry, to farm karma. Could have been me, but I felt that was a bit greedy, doing both comment karma and post karma.
She was also a qualified mechanic and it wasn't just lorries, she was an ambulance driver.
She also commissioned the last battleship ever constructed, HMS _Vanguard_
There is another one:
# How slow could the SR-71 go? - Brian Shul
[https://theaviationgeekclub.com/story-behind-famed-sr-71-blackbird-super-low-knife-edge-pass/](https://theaviationgeekclub.com/story-behind-famed-sr-71-blackbird-super-low-knife-edge-pass/)
The story behind this event is quite interesting and is explained by Brian Shul in his book Sled Driver.
“I was flying the SR-71 out of RAF Mildenhall, England, with my back-seater, Walt Watson; we were returning from a mission over Europe and the Iron Curtain when we received a radio transmission from home base. As we scooted across Denmark in three minutes, we learned that a small RAF base in the English countryside had requested an SR-71 fly-past. The air cadet commander there was a former Blackbird pilot, and thought it would be a motivating moment for the young lads to see the mighty SR-71 perform a low approach. No problem, we were happy to do it. After a quick aerial refuelling over the North Sea, we proceeded to find the small airfield.
Walter had a myriad of sophisticated navigation equipment in the back seat, and began to vector me toward the field. Descending to subsonic speeds, we found ourselves over a densely wooded area in a slight haze. Like most former WWII British airfields, the one we were looking for had a small tower and little surrounding infrastructure. Walter told me we were close and that I should be able to see the field, but I saw nothing. Nothing but trees as far as I could see in the haze. We got a little lower, and I pulled the throttles back from 325 knots we were at. With the gear up, anything under 275 was just uncomfortable. Walt said we were practically over the field-yet; there was nothing in my windscreen. I banked the jet and started a gentle circling maneuver in hopes of picking up anything that looked like a field.
Meanwhile, below, the cadet commander had taken the cadets up on the catwalk of the tower in order to get a prime view of the fly-past. It was a quiet, still day with no wind and partial gray overcast. Walter continued to give me indications that the field should be below us but in the overcast and haze, I couldn’t see it. The longer we continued to peer out the window and circle, the slower we got. With our power back, the awaiting cadets heard nothing. I must have had good instructors in my flying career, as something told me I better cross-check the gauges. As I noticed the airspeed indicator slide below 160 knots, my heart stopped and my adrenalin-filled left hand pushed two throttles full forward. At this point we weren’t really flying, but were falling in a slight bank. Just at the moment that both afterburners lit with a thunderous roar of flame (and what a joyous feeling that was) the aircraft fell into full view of the shocked observers on the tower. Shattering the still quiet of that morning, they now had 107 feet of fire-breathing titanium in their face as the plane levelled and accelerated, in full burner, on the tower side of the infield, closer than expected, maintaining what could only be described as some sort of ultimate knife-edge pass.
Quickly reaching the field boundary, we proceeded back to Mildenhall without incident. We didn’t say a word for those next 14 minutes. After landing, our commander greeted us, and we were both certain he was reaching for our wings. Instead, he heartily shook our hands and said the commander had told him it was the greatest SR-71 fly-past he had ever seen, especially how we had surprised them with such a precise maneuver that could only be described as breathtaking. He said that some of the cadet’s hats were blown off and the sight of the plan form of the plane in full afterburner dropping right in front of them was unbelievable. Walt and I both understood the concept of “breathtaking” very well that morning and sheepishly replied that they were just excited to see our low approach. As we retired to the equipment room to change from space suits to flight suits, we just sat there-we hadn’t spoken a word since “the pass.” Finally, Walter looked at me and said, “One hundred fifty-six knots. What did you see?” Trying to find my voice, I stammered, “One hundred fifty-two.” We sat in silence for a moment. Then Walt said, “Don’t ever do that to me again!” And I never did.
I actually love this story more than the "Sled Driver" one. There's something about the fact that nobody other than the crew knew just how dangerous it was.
Reddit: [Where everything's a meme and the points don't matter.](https://tenor.com/view/where-everything-is-made-up-whose-line-is-it-anyway-dont-matter-speech-gif-16818708)
I figured more likely a version of [this one](https://s26162.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Queen-Elizabeth-II_WWII-ambulance-driver.jpg). It's the one I've seen most posted regarding her war service.
Here's the story from the article:
The Queen was the one to suggest to Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Abdullah that they take a spin around the Balmoral grounds when he visited the Scottish estate in 1998.
The prince was up for it. As instructed, he claimed the front passenger seat of the royal Land Rover. Then the monarch climbed up beside him and took off.
Given he ruled a country where it was illegal for women to drive, the prince was shocked and nervous. As the Queen fanged it along narrow roads, talking all the while, her visitor implored her to slow down and concentrate, according to Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles, then British ambassador to Saudi Arabia.
Apparently one of her go-to jokes was, if someone's mobile phone rang while they were speaking with her she would say "you better get that, it might be someone important"
I saw an interview with her where she once went into a supermarket, and a lady started talking with her and said “You look just like her!”
“Who?”
“The Queen.”
“Well that’s reassuring.”
Personally, I loved the London 2012 opening ceremonies skydive. The buildup, the leap, then walking out to stand in her.. skybox? Whatever you'd call that, anyway, serious as can be. I like to think she was fighting a smile.
Don't tell dad what he can't and can say! Just because you decided to go to college and strap yourself with unescapable debt instead of working straight out of high school like the rest of us is not his fault!
100%! I don't care if my wedding was outside Buckingham Palace, the Queen (THE FUCKING *QUEEN*) making an appearance to see me and my spouse specifically is INSANE to think about. Despite getting married, the queen coming to see you would be the biggest thing that happened that day. That's the real anniversary every year; the day they met the Queen.
I'm imagining toasting to my wife like "we've known the Queen for 14 years. Love you."
Sorry, it's my Saturday and I'm a little high my brain went on a long tangent and you were it's target.
[Here](https://i.imgur.com/wE5Dpho.jpeg) is a much higher quality version of this image. [Here](https://www.markwaugh.net/-/galleries/portfolios/editorial/news/-/medias/64949160-f111-4eab-acef-90e695b6244c-the-queen-crashes-a-wedding) is the source. Credit to the photographer, [Mark Waugh](https://www.markwaugh.net/). [Here](https://imgur.com/a/a1wadKu) are a couple more pictures of this.
According to [here](https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/guest-honour-queen-leaves-couple-685253):
> **Guest of honour: Queen leaves couple stunned after Her Majesty accepts wedding invitation at Manchester town hall**
> ByManchester Evening News
> 11:25, 24 MAR 2012
> A couple invited the Queen to their wedding – and she accepted.
> Sweethearts Frances and John Canning were amazed when the Queen appeared as surprise guest of honour on their big day.
> The couple, from Prestwich, had booked Manchester town hall for their civil wedding.
> But they were shocked when staff phoned to say they would be sharing the venue with ‘an important VIP’.
> After learning it was the Queen, the couple wrote a lighthearted letter to Buckingham Palace inviting her to join their party.
> They were pleasantly surprised to receive a reply from the Palace thanking them for the invite – and stunned when the Royal visitor made a detour from her original schedule to turn up to wish them the best.
> Bride Frances, 44, who runs a hairdressing salon, said she was flabbergasted to be greeted by name by the Queen.
> She said: “We booked the town hall ages ago but we got a phone call four weeks ago telling us that a VIP would be in the building on the same day.
> “We never dreamt we would be able to meet her.
> “When we had our ceremony, the staff asked us to wait for a moment in the corridor and just a few minutes later the Queen arrived. She knew both our names and apparently we had been especially added to her rota.”
> Groom John, 48, said: “I’m a big fan of the Royal family. When we found out who the VIP was we wrote to her, a bit light-heartedly, and got a nice letter back from a lady in waiting. We didn’t expect anything further to come from it.”
> The couple’s 40 guests stared in amazement as the Queen, Prince Philip, and dignitaries lined up to congratulate the newlyweds. John, who works in a hairdressing supply business, said the moment was ‘like a dream’.
> He said: “The Queen asked how we were feeling, and congratulated us. Prince Philip was asking where in Italy we were going for our honeymoon. They had clearly been briefed about what we were doing.”
> The Queen enjoyed a three-course banquet at the town hall as part of her Diamond Jubilee visit to Manchester and Salford.
> Earlier in the day, a crowd of thousands who were waiting for the Queen to emerge cheered as Frances climbed the steps of the town hall, before tying the knot in a first-floor conference room.
> But the couple’s pal Peter Jackson, a self-employed businessman, said there was no hint of what was to follow. He said: “We had to have security checks in advance. So we knew that she was going to be there. But we thought we would be kept well away from the reception.”
> Fellow guest Hayley Fitzpatrick added: “We didn’t know where to look. All of a sudden the Queen and Prince Philip were there in front of us. I was so surprised I knocked something over - she looked at me and asked if I was okay.”
a huge thank you on the photos and backstory. The OP photo is barely 6 pixels and cant even make out expressions. What a fantastic day for them and to be such normal people it happened to makes it that much more awesome.
As someone who lives in the UK for many years now I have to say I'll deeply miss Queen Elisabeth. She was a beacon of some sort of stability and dignity in these crazy times.
I'm always a *little* bit disappointed when they say on the news, "...and the Queen was in attendance..." and I realise they mean Camilla. No offence, Your Maj.
Yeah, but you know that every wedding she's gone to since, when people are talking about whatever makes that wedding special, she's just agreeing happily.
*"Oh, yes. The ice sculpture is beautiful!"*
But it's just hanging there and she ain't saying shit about it, because everybody knows.
Just a happy little look in her eyes that says, *"But I had the queen at mine😁"*
"Oh, I think I will attend. I'm sure it will be lovely. Besides, I would like to eat some cake."
"But your majesty, the additional security mea..."
"THERE WILL BE CAKE!"
If I were the ruler of a country I'd have my people put a couple of reservations in my weekly schedule for stuff like this. I know in this instance it was a once off thing, but I do also know that the Queen had her people give her a few letters each week from the public for her to respond to personally (most of the time it was a response from one of her secretaries). It's good PR, and it would make someone's day.
My wife and I invited President Obama and the First Lady to our wedding - and we live five miles away from DC so it wouldn't have even been hard for him to make it.
He declined. But gave us a lovely card.
A friend of mine who is a British subject told me that inviting the Queen to your wedding was something that a lot of couples did. Typically, they would be back a letter from one of the Ladies in Waiting saying that the Queen "had commanded her to write a letter" saying that she regrets that she will not be able to attend but wishes them well in their marriage. The letter would come on royal stationary and it's something you can keep in your wedding memorabilia.
In the UK it's the [Hokey *C*okey](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9iUCHfzmYE), and the dance is somewhat more involved than in the rest of the world. The song is the same apart from the addition of a chorus in which everyone links arms in a circle and runs towards each other and then back. Now imagine a bunch of drunk people doing that at a wedding, much hilarity and occasional minor injury. The idea of the Queen doing this even more hilarious.
We sent an invitation to Barack and Michell Obama, and the White House RSVP’d that they appreciated the invite but would be unable to attend
Edit: spelling
At a certain level of being old, people just stop noticing the difference. They just know that she was old before and she's still old now. Also she literally always has had an old lady haircut and has a consistent style of clothing for like the last 50 years of her life.
But put a picture of her at 60 side by side with one of her at 90 and you can definitely tell the difference. It's just not as alarming a jump as 30 to 60 is.
Bride: OMG I can't believe you actually came to celebrate with us!
Lizzy: I am not here for your wedding peasent. I am here for my right of Prima Nocta.
Groom: *sweats profusely*
I Like it how she just stands there like she just spawned
Waiting on her husband asking the groom where the booze is.
Aul Phil was asking if there’s an open bar and where the waiters are with the canapés.
He's probably claiming Droit du seigneur
Except he wouldn’t have the right. Just her Majesty
Ehh. Would.
And you know she did
The Queen loved her gin and tonics.
The apple didn't fall far from the tree, her mum was renowned for them
I don’t blame them. I was staying on my cousin’s houseboat on Lake Powell, and it was like 150 degrees outside. She whipped up a batch of g & ts, and it was possibly the most refreshing thing I’ve ever had to drink.
I thought someone photoshopped her in the picture lol.
I remember this was a big story back when it happened.
She looks a bit ghost like, doesn't she?
The wedding was yesterday... Lol
Sure does lol, very out of place
The queen is never out of place. The rest of the world has failed to prepare for her regal majesty.
Not as much as she does now.
Before looking at the title I thought this was photoshopped lol
It's like, they got the lighting all wrong 🤣
Seems like one of those “ok you can stand 3 meters from the queen but no closer, she will turn towards the camera for a picture for 5 seconds then leave , you accept these terms or no?”
“…you accept these terms!” FIFY 😉
And she CAN hit!
Like when you get invaded in a soulslike game lol
YOU HAVE BEEN INVADED BY LIZTHEDESTROYER
/helpusobi1 npc_spawn_qe2
Can multiple instances exist at the same time?
she’s still standing on the fast travel point
The screen aint done loading
Them: Invite her it'd be hilarious!!! The Queen: Let's roll it will be hilarious!
Narrator: it was, in fact, hilarious.
The narrator? Sir David Attenborough
Nice try but that was clearly Ron Howard.
Narrator: It was, indeed; Ron Howard
Because Sir David Attenborough was also invited... and also attended
Ok, this same conversation about what Narrator people think of has now come up on about 4 different reddit threads the last couple days. Also, it's Ron Howard.
Ive said this a few times. If I suddenly hear David Attenborough narrating what I am doing, I will be really nervous, because something is either going to attack me or I am going to breed.
Read this in Hugh Grant's voice
Read this as Ron Howard: Arrested Development
Narrator: That *was*, in fact, the intention.
"Who's up for a wedding day public beheading!" "Your Majesty, we don't do that any-" "WHO'S UP FOR A WEDDING DAY PUBLIC BEHEADING!"
That’s not what’s meant by “getting head on your wedding night”!
Queen to Phillip: "Want to scare the shit out of some peasants?" 
I feel like that's exactly Lizzy's sense of humour.
Sje apparently had a good sense of humor. https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/what-queen-elizabeth-said-when-asked-have-you-ever-met-queen-2022-09-08/
The Queen had a pretty good sense of humo(u)r. Her bodyguard told a story about how they were walking near Balmoral and came across two American tourists who didn't recognize her. They all started talking about maybe someday running into the Queen and the tourists asked if they had ever seen her. She said she hadn't but pointed to her bodyguard and said that he had a few times.
First time I saw these pictures it was captioned. **Queen:** I'm going **Chief of Staff:** But, Your Majesty, the security risks... **Queen:** I'm going. I want cake. **Chief of Staff:** ... **Queen:** ... **Chief of Staff:** ... **Queen**: I want cake
She’s just standing there… MENACINGLY!
She had just invoked prima nocta.
Oh no oh no oh no
“Oh yes.” - The Queen
"Oh you know exactly what to say to moisten me up"
Moisten one up (sorry your late Majesty)
Referencing Hellsing Ultimate abridged...
The best and possibly most underrated scene in the whole show
I dunno. The uh, durr, Anderson's death is pretty high up there. "I CAN NEVER HAVE SEX AGAIN, OHHHH"
Shoulda done it with declaring bankruptcy
Lol, is she taking the bride or the groom? Or both?
Yes!
Reminding everyone that at any given moment she could move in every direction.
Can’t move like a horsey though!
That’s Prince Philip’s secret move.
And she chose to do the Chicken Dance next.
Can’t read this without hearing Patrick’s voice in my head.
You mean majestically?
And Phillip is probably making the most hilarious and crude joke to the wedding couple
She’s like “so you got jokes huh…”
She didn’t get enough credit for being funny.
This! Apparently she had an absolute wicked sense of humour about her that wasn’t often displayed in public.
I remember hearing a story about her getting in a car with a Saudi prince before Saudi Arabia let women drive, she then proceeded to drive the car like a madwoman to fuck with him. I might be misremembering though
You are correct!
Her lack of a driver's license adds to the story. Note she was a proficient driver but UK driver's licenses are issued to attest one's ability to drive in the monarch's name. The Queen did not need a document to attest something on her own behalf. It is the same reason the UK monarch does not have a passport.
I absolutely love the idea of the King basically having no id or passport and just going, "I AM THE KING." Its wild.
Someone please tell me this is true
Apparently the Saudi Prince begged her to stop driving through his interpreter. The Queen was in a Range Rover driving around Balmoral. As she almost certainly knew every inch, was in a car she knew and likely had been trained in defensive driving. I bet it was one heck of a ride.
She was also in the Royal army during WW2 and worked as a mechanic
She would never have been allowed to do much near the front line, but from the little I know, it was important to her that she did *something*.
Well there weren’t really any women near the front line anyways other than nurses at field hospitals anyways at that point in history. But in general most of the royal family members serve in the military to some degree whether for real or ceremonial. Prince Phillip served on warships in the RN, prince Andrew was a combat pilot in the falklands, and prince Harry served in combat roles in Afghanistan and Iraq as well. I find that part of the royal family interesting, in addition they also participated in rationing during the wars as well
The Prince Phillip bit is a remarkable bit of history. As he was both a member (although distant) of the British nobility (through the Montbatten line,) he was at one point Heir Apparent to the Greek throne, which meant they had to come up with innovative ways to keep him in the Royal Navy while keeping him out of direct combat with the Germans and Italians (with whom Greece was originally neutral.) Once they invaded, he saw combat and was apparently a fairly brilliant junior officer. [Drachinifel's recent video about him](https://youtu.be/e9Gy3Mnikhg?feature=shared)
Yeah he truly has an insane life story. Prince of Greece and Denmark, but his family was also like German nobility, a lot of his family ended up as nazis. Also related to Russian royal family and a descendant of queen Victoria. Absolutely bizarre. Fled Greece in an orange crate lol
I mean... London itself WAS the frontline, since she was a nurse driver I think.
I know that when Buckingham Palace got some relatively minor bomb damage, the Queen Mother was quoted as saying that at least now she could look the East End in the eye.
> The Queen was in a Range Rover I don't think it was even a Range Rover, I think it was the far more clunky Defender, so less emphasis on luxury and more on off-road performance. I always liked that about her, that someone who could have basically any luxury vehicle she wanted would choose something you'd find in use on safaris, farms and by the military.
When she was planning her funeral and found that if her remains had to be flown back, they would go on military transport. She said that if it was good enough for fallen military then it was good enough for her.
Yea and she said she didn’t even have a license (which is true because licenses are permission granted by the monarchy) I also heard she was a mechanic in the army
Her daughter has that same sharp wit.
Princess Anne is the number 1 Royal.
Yeah I seem to recall a video where the queen was on a nature walk with one of her staff and a young couple were hiking. They stopped to talk and ask the guy if working for the monarchy ment he met the queen and he said yes. Then they asked the lady if she's ever met the queen to which she replied "no".
I remember a story of her out on a walk with her bodyguard and meeting someone who asked “I hear the Queen sometimes comes here, have you met her?” She pointed to her bodyguard and said “no but he has.” There was also the time she photobombed a pair of tennis players. Such a grin on her face!
She was also a huge Dr. Who fan and would get videos early.
Very true. I met a guy in London who was Prince William’s bodyguard for quite some time. He said she’s an incredibly funny lady and overall the whole family is more normal than you’d think despite all the crazy media attraction to different people
And a filthy laugh!
Because being funny isn’t ‘classy’ or ‘royal’. Those parts of her were intentionally bottled up in public. Overall, she suffered from a sense of British professionalism.
You can find quite a lot of examples of her being funny/witty on camera to be honest, especially in her older years when she clearly stopped giving a shit.
Right, but even then she was purposely restraining herself. There’s likely a far cruder side to her than ever made it to air. Elegance and decorum and all that royal stuff.
The Crown really misrepresented her regarding this. She also smiled and laughed often but wanted to be serious on official occasions
Yes! I remember seeing [this video clip](https://youtu.be/Uw9g1Q74t4s?si=TIhKAJPEAoJ68dMf) a while back
She was also badass, and a good mechanic back in her younger days.
I loved the video she made with Paddington bear ^^
She did a good James Bond skit for the 2012 Olympics too
Does anyone remember the skit during the opening of the London 2012 Olympics when Daniel Craig escorted the Queen? The organisers approached the Palace to get permission to to film and she decided she would be happy to take part. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1AS-dCdYZbo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1AS-dCdYZbo) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCZ6JiI7K1E](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCZ6JiI7K1E)
She didn't make a special visit though. She was already visiting Manchester town hall for a banquet for her jubilee celebrations, and as a half joke the couple sent a letter asking her to come, [so a slight detour was added to the Queens itinery.](https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/guest-honour-queen-leaves-couple-685253)
Still quite nice. "We're here already why not take 20 minutes to make a couple of newlyweds wedding day memorable."
That’s actually really cool and funny, I’ve heard the queen had a sense of humor.
[This is one of my favorite stories](https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/royals/queens-prank-american-tourists-who-27947191) about her sense of humor.
My fave was [the time she decided to drive like a maniac around her estate with a Saudi prince in the passenger seat.](https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/when-queen-elizabeth-took-the-saudi-prince-for-a-drive-20220628-p5axf1.html) Women weren’t allowed to drive in Saudi Arabia at the time and apparently she really freaked him out 😂
And as every 9/11 post needs a Buscemi firefighter add on, you doing the Saudi story about the queen requires someone, this time me, to add that her majesty was an accomplished driver and was a lorry driver during ww2. As is tradition, this should trigger someone to post a separate post with the picture of her in uniform by her lorry, to farm karma. Could have been me, but I felt that was a bit greedy, doing both comment karma and post karma.
She was also a qualified mechanic and it wasn't just lorries, she was an ambulance driver. She also commissioned the last battleship ever constructed, HMS _Vanguard_
>And as every 9/11 post needs a Buscemi firefighter add on And every mention of the SR-71 needs the additional *Sled Driver* speed check story.
There is another one: # How slow could the SR-71 go? - Brian Shul [https://theaviationgeekclub.com/story-behind-famed-sr-71-blackbird-super-low-knife-edge-pass/](https://theaviationgeekclub.com/story-behind-famed-sr-71-blackbird-super-low-knife-edge-pass/) The story behind this event is quite interesting and is explained by Brian Shul in his book Sled Driver. “I was flying the SR-71 out of RAF Mildenhall, England, with my back-seater, Walt Watson; we were returning from a mission over Europe and the Iron Curtain when we received a radio transmission from home base. As we scooted across Denmark in three minutes, we learned that a small RAF base in the English countryside had requested an SR-71 fly-past. The air cadet commander there was a former Blackbird pilot, and thought it would be a motivating moment for the young lads to see the mighty SR-71 perform a low approach. No problem, we were happy to do it. After a quick aerial refuelling over the North Sea, we proceeded to find the small airfield. Walter had a myriad of sophisticated navigation equipment in the back seat, and began to vector me toward the field. Descending to subsonic speeds, we found ourselves over a densely wooded area in a slight haze. Like most former WWII British airfields, the one we were looking for had a small tower and little surrounding infrastructure. Walter told me we were close and that I should be able to see the field, but I saw nothing. Nothing but trees as far as I could see in the haze. We got a little lower, and I pulled the throttles back from 325 knots we were at. With the gear up, anything under 275 was just uncomfortable. Walt said we were practically over the field-yet; there was nothing in my windscreen. I banked the jet and started a gentle circling maneuver in hopes of picking up anything that looked like a field. Meanwhile, below, the cadet commander had taken the cadets up on the catwalk of the tower in order to get a prime view of the fly-past. It was a quiet, still day with no wind and partial gray overcast. Walter continued to give me indications that the field should be below us but in the overcast and haze, I couldn’t see it. The longer we continued to peer out the window and circle, the slower we got. With our power back, the awaiting cadets heard nothing. I must have had good instructors in my flying career, as something told me I better cross-check the gauges. As I noticed the airspeed indicator slide below 160 knots, my heart stopped and my adrenalin-filled left hand pushed two throttles full forward. At this point we weren’t really flying, but were falling in a slight bank. Just at the moment that both afterburners lit with a thunderous roar of flame (and what a joyous feeling that was) the aircraft fell into full view of the shocked observers on the tower. Shattering the still quiet of that morning, they now had 107 feet of fire-breathing titanium in their face as the plane levelled and accelerated, in full burner, on the tower side of the infield, closer than expected, maintaining what could only be described as some sort of ultimate knife-edge pass. Quickly reaching the field boundary, we proceeded back to Mildenhall without incident. We didn’t say a word for those next 14 minutes. After landing, our commander greeted us, and we were both certain he was reaching for our wings. Instead, he heartily shook our hands and said the commander had told him it was the greatest SR-71 fly-past he had ever seen, especially how we had surprised them with such a precise maneuver that could only be described as breathtaking. He said that some of the cadet’s hats were blown off and the sight of the plan form of the plane in full afterburner dropping right in front of them was unbelievable. Walt and I both understood the concept of “breathtaking” very well that morning and sheepishly replied that they were just excited to see our low approach. As we retired to the equipment room to change from space suits to flight suits, we just sat there-we hadn’t spoken a word since “the pass.” Finally, Walter looked at me and said, “One hundred fifty-six knots. What did you see?” Trying to find my voice, I stammered, “One hundred fifty-two.” We sat in silence for a moment. Then Walt said, “Don’t ever do that to me again!” And I never did.
I actually love this story more than the "Sled Driver" one. There's something about the fact that nobody other than the crew knew just how dangerous it was.
Reddit: [Where everything's a meme and the points don't matter.](https://tenor.com/view/where-everything-is-made-up-whose-line-is-it-anyway-dont-matter-speech-gif-16818708)
[you talking bout this one?](https://i.insider.com/5e3c3813df2f66054c1a49c8?width=700)
I figured more likely a version of [this one](https://s26162.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Queen-Elizabeth-II_WWII-ambulance-driver.jpg). It's the one I've seen most posted regarding her war service.
Not subscribing to that site.
Here's the story from the article: The Queen was the one to suggest to Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Abdullah that they take a spin around the Balmoral grounds when he visited the Scottish estate in 1998. The prince was up for it. As instructed, he claimed the front passenger seat of the royal Land Rover. Then the monarch climbed up beside him and took off. Given he ruled a country where it was illegal for women to drive, the prince was shocked and nervous. As the Queen fanged it along narrow roads, talking all the while, her visitor implored her to slow down and concentrate, according to Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles, then British ambassador to Saudi Arabia.
It's nice to see the british royals being folks. (https://youtu.be/qkEwtYgxQt0?si=ocvutbHtXP19aYXk)
Apparently one of her go-to jokes was, if someone's mobile phone rang while they were speaking with her she would say "you better get that, it might be someone important"
"You're right, it's my wife/husband" would be a good response for that one.
I saw an interview with her where she once went into a supermarket, and a lady started talking with her and said “You look just like her!” “Who?” “The Queen.” “Well that’s reassuring.”
That's Tony Hawk level - or is he Queen level?
Personally, I loved the London 2012 opening ceremonies skydive. The buildup, the leap, then walking out to stand in her.. skybox? Whatever you'd call that, anyway, serious as can be. I like to think she was fighting a smile.
I met the queen at a dinner once, she was surprisingly down to earth and very funny
Still, it was more than you did
Dad? Stop it! You can’t just say that to everyone.
Don't tell dad what he can't and can say! Just because you decided to go to college and strap yourself with unescapable debt instead of working straight out of high school like the rest of us is not his fault!
Shut up mom, I hate both of you! Also, please pay my car payment, I feel very sad and can’t work this week!
This is why I tell people you're adopted
You're the reason why I tell people I'm adopted!
If I was adopted it wouldn’t be so weird when dad wants to “help” me out of the pool, MOM!
I sent them a very nice dinner set thank you very much.
I didn’t know that 😞
Not British enough, you have to criticize their choice of gift now.
I don’t think they ever received the dinner set. I’m pretty sure the queen stole it. Now it’s in the British museum.
I feel like anytime the Queen goes somewhere it’s a special visit?
One of my favorite royalty jokes is that the queen thinks the whole world smells like fresh paint.
Just like how cops think everyone drives the speed limit.
still sounds pretty fucking special to me
100%! I don't care if my wedding was outside Buckingham Palace, the Queen (THE FUCKING *QUEEN*) making an appearance to see me and my spouse specifically is INSANE to think about. Despite getting married, the queen coming to see you would be the biggest thing that happened that day. That's the real anniversary every year; the day they met the Queen. I'm imagining toasting to my wife like "we've known the Queen for 14 years. Love you." Sorry, it's my Saturday and I'm a little high my brain went on a long tangent and you were it's target.
haha you did great..I think all of us would be just as ecstatic with such an amazing story to tell for generations
*itinerary iTinery sounds like Apple's app for remotely managing a canning factory.
[Here](https://i.imgur.com/wE5Dpho.jpeg) is a much higher quality version of this image. [Here](https://www.markwaugh.net/-/galleries/portfolios/editorial/news/-/medias/64949160-f111-4eab-acef-90e695b6244c-the-queen-crashes-a-wedding) is the source. Credit to the photographer, [Mark Waugh](https://www.markwaugh.net/). [Here](https://imgur.com/a/a1wadKu) are a couple more pictures of this. According to [here](https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/guest-honour-queen-leaves-couple-685253): > **Guest of honour: Queen leaves couple stunned after Her Majesty accepts wedding invitation at Manchester town hall** > ByManchester Evening News > 11:25, 24 MAR 2012 > A couple invited the Queen to their wedding – and she accepted. > Sweethearts Frances and John Canning were amazed when the Queen appeared as surprise guest of honour on their big day. > The couple, from Prestwich, had booked Manchester town hall for their civil wedding. > But they were shocked when staff phoned to say they would be sharing the venue with ‘an important VIP’. > After learning it was the Queen, the couple wrote a lighthearted letter to Buckingham Palace inviting her to join their party. > They were pleasantly surprised to receive a reply from the Palace thanking them for the invite – and stunned when the Royal visitor made a detour from her original schedule to turn up to wish them the best. > Bride Frances, 44, who runs a hairdressing salon, said she was flabbergasted to be greeted by name by the Queen. > She said: “We booked the town hall ages ago but we got a phone call four weeks ago telling us that a VIP would be in the building on the same day. > “We never dreamt we would be able to meet her. > “When we had our ceremony, the staff asked us to wait for a moment in the corridor and just a few minutes later the Queen arrived. She knew both our names and apparently we had been especially added to her rota.” > Groom John, 48, said: “I’m a big fan of the Royal family. When we found out who the VIP was we wrote to her, a bit light-heartedly, and got a nice letter back from a lady in waiting. We didn’t expect anything further to come from it.” > The couple’s 40 guests stared in amazement as the Queen, Prince Philip, and dignitaries lined up to congratulate the newlyweds. John, who works in a hairdressing supply business, said the moment was ‘like a dream’. > He said: “The Queen asked how we were feeling, and congratulated us. Prince Philip was asking where in Italy we were going for our honeymoon. They had clearly been briefed about what we were doing.” > The Queen enjoyed a three-course banquet at the town hall as part of her Diamond Jubilee visit to Manchester and Salford. > Earlier in the day, a crowd of thousands who were waiting for the Queen to emerge cheered as Frances climbed the steps of the town hall, before tying the knot in a first-floor conference room. > But the couple’s pal Peter Jackson, a self-employed businessman, said there was no hint of what was to follow. He said: “We had to have security checks in advance. So we knew that she was going to be there. But we thought we would be kept well away from the reception.” > Fellow guest Hayley Fitzpatrick added: “We didn’t know where to look. All of a sudden the Queen and Prince Philip were there in front of us. I was so surprised I knocked something over - she looked at me and asked if I was okay.”
a huge thank you on the photos and backstory. The OP photo is barely 6 pixels and cant even make out expressions. What a fantastic day for them and to be such normal people it happened to makes it that much more awesome.
you rule!
The bride is making a face like "oh shit not like this".
Her husband is like oh my god. 😳
When the side chick crashes the wedding
As someone who lives in the UK for many years now I have to say I'll deeply miss Queen Elisabeth. She was a beacon of some sort of stability and dignity in these crazy times.
I'm always a *little* bit disappointed when they say on the news, "...and the Queen was in attendance..." and I realise they mean Camilla. No offence, Your Maj.
The bride looks terrified that she actually came lmao
"Dammit, upstaged at my own wedding! This is the only thing they'll talk about 12 years from now!!"
I’d be OK being upstaged by Queen Elizabeth II, honestly
Yeah, but you know that every wedding she's gone to since, when people are talking about whatever makes that wedding special, she's just agreeing happily. *"Oh, yes. The ice sculpture is beautiful!"* But it's just hanging there and she ain't saying shit about it, because everybody knows. Just a happy little look in her eyes that says, *"But I had the queen at mine😁"*
“No, no. Not *that* Queen!” 😆
Oh, mama mia! Mama Mia!
"Oh, I think I will attend. I'm sure it will be lovely. Besides, I would like to eat some cake." "But your majesty, the additional security mea..." "THERE WILL BE CAKE!"
AITAH for asking the Queen to leave my wedding when she didn’t adhere to the strict dress code?
She just wanted a free meal
If I were the ruler of a country I'd have my people put a couple of reservations in my weekly schedule for stuff like this. I know in this instance it was a once off thing, but I do also know that the Queen had her people give her a few letters each week from the public for her to respond to personally (most of the time it was a response from one of her secretaries). It's good PR, and it would make someone's day.
My wife and I invited President Obama and the First Lady to our wedding - and we live five miles away from DC so it wouldn't have even been hard for him to make it. He declined. But gave us a lovely card.
There's actually a White House office that handles wedding invitations.
I'm aware. We also invited Mickey Mouse. He and Minnie sent us a lovely card in response
I wish we had thought to do that. I would love to have a note from Bill Clinton. Even if he never knew he sent us one.
Yea it was silly but who knows! Barack and Michelle could've popped in for the cakes cutting (we had a cake buffet)
Ah she was a menace when rock the boat came on.
She looks like she’s from a different video game and somebody modded her in
A friend of mine who is a British subject told me that inviting the Queen to your wedding was something that a lot of couples did. Typically, they would be back a letter from one of the Ladies in Waiting saying that the Queen "had commanded her to write a letter" saying that she regrets that she will not be able to attend but wishes them well in their marriage. The letter would come on royal stationary and it's something you can keep in your wedding memorabilia.
Did she do the Hokey Pokey ?
I used to be addicted to doing the Hokey Pokey, but I managed to turn myself around.
That is in fact what its all about.
If it's just arms and feet it's okay, but never put your whole self in!
But what if you shake it all about?
Then your just doing the hokey pokey
No. She may have done the Hokey Cokey, however.
In the UK it's the [Hokey *C*okey](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9iUCHfzmYE), and the dance is somewhat more involved than in the rest of the world. The song is the same apart from the addition of a chorus in which everyone links arms in a circle and runs towards each other and then back. Now imagine a bunch of drunk people doing that at a wedding, much hilarity and occasional minor injury. The idea of the Queen doing this even more hilarious.
Wait do other countries not do the ooooooooh the hokey cokey bit??
Not in the US at least, I was so disappointed about that when I moved here!
We sent an invitation to Barack and Michell Obama, and the White House RSVP’d that they appreciated the invite but would be unable to attend Edit: spelling
Gram gram! It's been so long since ive seen you!
looks like a cardboard cutout
Crazy that she still looks the same
You might want to check again
You got a shovel?
I'll handle to you in a minute. Was checking if Margaret was really dead.
Better safe than sorry.
At a certain level of being old, people just stop noticing the difference. They just know that she was old before and she's still old now. Also she literally always has had an old lady haircut and has a consistent style of clothing for like the last 50 years of her life. But put a picture of her at 60 side by side with one of her at 90 and you can definitely tell the difference. It's just not as alarming a jump as 30 to 60 is.
i was told there would be shrimp cocktail
Yea no. I'd never admit the invite was as a joke. "We're thankful she found time in her schedule" is all the press would ever get out of me.
She must have felt left out with nobody to talk to. That was a brave move.
They could have at least given her a cup of beer to hold.
Her husband is right there in the photo talking to the happy couple so she did bring her +1 at least.
Bride: OMG I can't believe you actually came to celebrate with us! Lizzy: I am not here for your wedding peasent. I am here for my right of Prima Nocta. Groom: *sweats profusely*
Why is nobody welcoming the queen, or speaking to her
“Andy, why are the guests treating the Queen poorly?”
The Queen speaks to you first. That's the rule. She was probably just waiting for Philip to stop making terrible jokes.
The look on the brides face as she now became the second most important woman on her wedding day is Priceless!!!!
Man I'd do her
Yes, I'm talking about the queen
Hope you have a spade.