The Wicked Wit of Queen Elizabeth II

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The queen herself has quipped, according to Dolby, “I have to be seen to be believed.” Sometimes a glimpse of the queen can lead to extreme results. As Blaikie writes: When visiting New Zealand in 1986, the queen and Prince Philip were pelted with eggs thrown by protestors. Later, at a state banquet, she remarked: “New Zealand has long been renowned for its dairy produce, though I should say that I myself prefer my New Zealand eggs for breakfast.” Occasionally unintentiona l (when meeting guitar legend Eric Clapton she enquired 'Have you been playing a long time?') These public quips while on state visits to the USA have endeared her to the more casual American political establishment. In 1991, while visiting the White House of George H.W. Bush, only her hat was visible above the podium on the White House lawn during the welcoming ceremony. The next day, she appeared in front of Congress and deadpanned, “I do hope you can see me today from where you are.”

Many of the queen’s reported witticisms deal with the absurdity of her position, and how people react to her. “I’ve seen some very comical moments,” her grandson Prince William once said. “I’ve seen people literally faint in front of her. It’s quite a startling moment as to what to do when you faint in front of the queen! There’s a lot of trembling knees and people can’t talk sometimes. It’s quite difficult talking to people when they can’t talk.” During a visit to the Chelsea flower show in 2016, the gardener Jekka McVicar explained to the Queen that lily of the valley was once used as a poison. The Queen, according to McVicar, quipped: “I’ve been given two bunches this week. Perhaps they want me dead.” A beautiful collection celebrating the Queen’s humour, with amusing quotations and stories about royal life . And he was an energetic and humorous man, sometimes making jokes and quips to bring laughter to others, including his wife, sometimes causing controversy with unguarded comments. So this little book should be hilarious, given that his life was full, constantly in the public eye and well reported. There are some very funny parts, worth reading the book just for them. But sadly Karen Dolby's way of telling them is dry and mostly devoid of humour as she briefly gives an historical context.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book for a number of reasons, the first being that I genuinely laughed out loud throughout reading it, which rarely happens even when the writer intended it. Once, when walking the grounds of Balmoral with her protection officer, Queen Elizabeth ran into some American tourists. It became clear they didn’t recognize her: “Have you ever met the queen?” they asked. “No,” she responded, and then pointed at her protection officer. “But he has.” A charming collection of quotes and anecdotes celebrating the late Queen Elizabeth II, the incomparable British monarch. Upon his return from a four-month solo tour of the Commonwealth in 1957-during which time he had grown an impressive array of facial hair - the Duke of Edinburgh was reportedly met by the Queen and a greeting party all sporting false ginger beards.

In this book, first of all, a timeline of his active life as a royal has been made, that list is already quite impressive. Then we go step by step through his life, through different chapters. Each chapter again contains small topics in which one or another statement of the prince is central. Her public face was one of duty and seriousness, not only influenced by her position but because she was also from a generation that shied away from showing emotion in public. This could have an unintended effect. Richard Crossman, the leftwing intellectual and politician, noted after meeting the Queen in the 1960s: “She laughs with her whole face and she cannot just assume a mere smile because she’s really a very spontaneous person. Godfrey Agnew [clerk of the privy council] was right when he said to me that … she finds it difficult to suppress her emotion. When she is deeply moved and tries to control it, she looks like an angry thundercloud. So, very often when she’s been deeply touched by the plaudits of the crowd, she merely looks terribly bad-tempered.” Humour also defined the Queen’s relationship with her husband. “I don’t think anyone without a sense of humour would have been so happy, or forge such a successful partnership, with a man like Prince Philip,” says Dolby. What people forgot, says Lacey, “when they talked about Prince Philip, his gaffes and his dreadful politically incorrect sense of humour, that the main person that was designed for was the Queen”.Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip] make a formidable duo and there is no doubt that his support has been vital. The pair are often seen sharing a joke, laughing and swapping comments. That is not to say that it's always plain sailing. During a heated argument with Prince Philip in Australia during their After reading it, of course, the question remains whether it all really happened. We know for sure about Prince Philip, but about the Queen it will mostly be speculation. No announcements are made about this and The Queen never falls out of her role. This book, sent to me by family from Great Britain, takes us through the life of Queen Elizabeth II. Not the side we know so well about her, for a change. But the unknown side of The Queen. It turns out that she has a nice dose of humor. I think you should also have that when you have been on the throne for almost 70 years, have endured many highs, but also many lows. It provides an insight into a woman born into a difficult position - seriously, do you want to be doing the same job in the public spotlight for over 6 decades? Working at maintaining tradition while trying to move it into the technological present and future? For the most part, not allowing that British 'stiff-upper-lip' respond to the critiques and criticism of the press and residents.It's a good thing she has a sense of humor - even if the public doesn't get many glimpses of it. The Queen driving her Range Rover as she attends the Royal Windsor horse show in July 2021. Photograph: Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images