The Queen Once Pranked Two Americans Who Didn't Recognize Her in This Hilarious Story
The late Queen pranked some unsuspecting American tourists.
Queen Elizabeth was known to have a great sense of humor. She was also regarded as being quite modest. There are several stories circulating about how the Queen enjoyed going for walks wherever she was. While most people would recognize her, there were a handful of times she blended in with the general public. And unlike some other celebrities, who would use the "Don't you know who I am?" approach, she allowed them to believe she was just another one of the people. In a new interview one of the Queen's protection officers, Richard Griffin, details a prank he and the late Queen pulled on some unsuspecting Americans, who unknowingly came into contact with one of the most famous women in the world.
He started off by explaining that normally there were no people around the picnic sites. However, on that day, there were two American hikers "on a walking holiday" heading in their direction. "The Queen would always stop and say hello," he explains.
The hikers started chatting with them. "It was clear from the moment that we first stopped, they hadn't recognized the Queen, which is fine," he continued. "The American gentleman was telling the queen where he came from, where they were going next, and where they'd been to in Britain."
"I could see it coming and sure enough, he said to Her Majesty, 'and where do you live?' And she said, 'Well, I live in London, but I've got a holiday home, just on the other side of the hills.' And he said, 'Well, how often have you been coming up here?' 'Oh,' she said, 'I've been coming up here ever since I was a little girl. So over 80 years.'"
"You could see the clocks ticking," he went on. "He said, 'Well, if you'd been coming up here for 80 years, you must have met the Queen.' And as quick as a flash she says, 'Well, I haven't. But Dick here meets her regularly.' So the guy said to me, 'Well, you've met the Queen. What is she like?' And because I was with her a long time and I knew I could pull her leg. I said, 'Oh, she can be very cantankerous at times, but she's got a lovely sense of humor.'"
"And anyway, the next thing I knew, this guy comes around, puts his arm around my shoulder and before I could see what's happening, he gets his camera, gives it to the Queen and says, 'Can you take a picture of the two of us?' Anyway, we swap places. And I took a picture of them with a Queen and we never let on. And we wave goodbye. And then 'Imagine,' she said to me, 'I'd love to be a fly in the wall when he shows us photographs to his friends in America and hopefully someone tells him who I am."
