An anecdote published in The Times newspaper reveals that a former guardsman once came close to shooting The Queen by accident, after believing the monarch was an intruder.
In the piece, the guard recalls that Her Majesty enjoys late night walks, and often embarks upon them in the middle of the night.
On one occasion, a guardsman spotted a lone figure at the perimeter of the Buckingham Palace walls at 3am.
The guard, in the belief he had spotted an intruder, called out at the suspect, asking for their identity.
The monarch herself replied, much to the guard’s surprise.
The anonymous guard shouted: “Bloody hell, Your Majesty, I nearly shot you!”
Displaying her wicked sense of humour, the Queen replied: “That’s quite all right. Next time I’ll ring through beforehand so you don’t have to shoot me.”
This is just one of many amusing anecdotes that have emerged over the past couple of years. Last year it was revealed that The Queen often walks around the grounds of Balmoral completely unnoticed because she doesn’t wear her tiara, according to a former royal protection officer.
Speaking to The Times, Richard Griffin said that she is so unrecognisable, a group of tourists once had a long chat with her, not knowing that they were speaking to The Monarch.
However, Mr Griffin said that The Queen did not want to blow her cover when talking to the tourists, so she played along.
The American tourists asked The Queen whether she lives locally. She simply responded that she lived nearby, not giving away that they lived in the huge Balmoral Castle they were stood beside.
The tourists also asked if she had met the Queen, whereby she pointed to her companion and said: “No, but he has.”
Her Majesty was not recognisable in her headscarf and wellington boots according to the former protection officer. The public are used to seeing her in a bright array of colours with large hats.
