The Wicked Wit of Queen Elizabeth II

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I really enjoyed this book. The Queen seems to have been a delightful, spunky and funny person and I loved seeing these little tidbits of her life (and her families). A beautiful collection celebrating the Queen’s humour, with amusing quotations and stories about royal life . 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”. At the 2016 Chelsea Flower Show, a gardener told her how lilies of the valley have poisonous traits. The queen replied, darkly, “I’ve been given two bunches this week. Perhaps they want me dead.” 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.

One well-documented disaster was the silver jubilee celebration at Windsor Great Park on June 6, 1977. The queen had been invited to light a beacon atop Snow Hill, but it didn’t work out that way. Dolby writes:Revealing a side of the Queen's personality that the public rarely see, this joyous little book is a timely celebration of royal humour as Elizabeth II succeeds Victoria as Britain's longest-serving monarch. The Queen driving her Range Rover as she attends the Royal Windsor horse show in July 2021. Photograph: Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images 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.

Occasionally unintentional (when meeting guitar legend Eric Clapton she enquired 'Have you been playing a long time?') In the summer of 2013, royal baby watch hit a fervor as the world waited for Prince George. When pressed for clues at an engagement, the queen simply replied:…“I hope it arrives soon because I’m going on holiday.” A beautiful collection celebrating the Queen's humour, with amusing quotations and stories about royal life. At 95, the queen still hasn’t lost her sense of humor. Lacey points to what she said when she posed for pictures with President Biden, Boris Johnson, and the leaders of the G7 in Cornwall in June this year: “Are you supposed to be looking as if you’re enjoying yourself?” 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.”The queen also reportedly relies on humor to make her subjects and guests more comfortable. “Given the strict official life she leads I firmly believe the queen finds humor a great stress buster, particularly given all the thousands of people she meets,” Mineards says. “She likes to make them feel at ease, not the easiest of tasks when meeting the most famous woman in the world, but I’m sure humor and the odd joke help a great deal.” 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. And this is the collection of her work. A series of anecdotes and quotes from over 60 years on the throne. And it is not just Elizabeth. There are quotes from Prince Philip, Prince Charles, Princes William and Harry, Princesses Anne and Margaret along with a comment or two from the Queen Mum.

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 Far from appearing frazzled or fearful, the next night at a state banquet she reportedly quipped, “New Zealand has long been renowned for its dairy produce, though I should say that I myself prefer my New Zealand eggs for breakfast.” 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.”

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A charming collection of quotes and anecdotes celebrating the late Queen Elizabeth II, the incomparable British monarch. The second being that Prince Philip is renowned for having often said either the wrong thing at the wrong time or for saying something in a manner that wasn’t expected of a member of the Royal Family, and more often than not, he was shamed in the papers for doing so. But this book didn’t take one off quotes out of context, in fact, it actually painted a picture of the scene and exactly what was happening around the Duke of Edinburgh for a recipient to receive the comment they did, and it also offered up a few responses from people that had received the comment which gave a clear indication that offence wasn’t always taken as the papers suggested.

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.” The book has hardly been updated for the real Royal fan. We already know many items that pass by. For those who are not familiar with the protocol of The Royal Family, this booklet is useful. It explains exactly how and what to do when you meet The Queen. The same goes for the explanation about her ever-present handbag. The Queen speaks secret language to her staff there with it. Those are fun facts. While reading the book you get some giggles out of it and it has little facts. 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:A group of American tourists once approached the Queen as she was out walking near her Balmoral estate. Not recognising the unassuming woman in a headscarf, they asked if she lived nearby. “She answered quite non-committally that yes, she had a house quite close by,” says the writer Karen Dolby, recounting a talk given by Richard Griffin, the Queen’s former protection officer. “They asked if she’d ever met the Queen, and without missing a beat she replied ‘no’ but pointed at Richard Griffin, and said, ‘but he has’. And then they walked on, none the wiser. I think her sense of irony and lightness of touch reflected her humour very obviously.”