The late Queen Elizabeth II is remembered by most as a respected monarch. However, a story recounted by a former bodyguard showcased a sillier side of the Queen.
Richard Griffin, also known as Dick, served as Elizabeth’s royal protection officer. He recalled the story to Sky News during Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee last June.
The Queen’s Former Bodyguard Recalls A Story That Captured Her Sillier Side
Griffin once accompanied the queen when she was walking in the hills outside of Balmoral when two American tourists on vacation reportedly approached her.
One hiker – who did not know who he was speaking to – asked Elizabeth where she lived. She replied that she lived in London and said she had a holiday home nearby, but did not specify that she was referring to Balmoral.
The hiker then asked her if she had ever met the queen.
“I haven’t, but Dick here meets her regularly,” Elizabeth reportedly said. The hiker quickly turned his attention to the bodyguard and asked him what the monarch was like in person.
“I was with her a long time and I knew I could pull her leg,” Griffin said. “I said, ‘Oh, she can be very cantankerous at times, but she’s got a lovely sense of humor.'”
Beyond elated, the hiker asked the queen if she could take his picture with Griffin.
“Before I could see what was happening, he gets his camera and gives it to the queen and says, ‘Can you take a picture of us?'” Griffin recounted.
Elizabeth took a picture of the two before Griffin took the camera and photographed the queen with the unknowing tourists.
“I’d love to be a fly on the wall when he shows those photographs to friends in America and hopefully someone tells him who I am,” Elizabeth allegedly told Griffin.
Former U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom Woody Johnson also remembered her sense of humor on “The Ingraham Angle” on Thursday.
“The resolve, the humor, you’ve got to be on your toes. You had to be on your toes with her,” Woody recalled. “She was very, very quick. She had an incredible memory on almost any subject.”