I think it's safe to say most people picture the Queen as an upstanding, sensible and generally serious figure, but it turns out she's still just as much a fan of rude jokes as any of us.
Whether it's an age-old 'pull my finger' or a more intricate quip with a perfectly-timed punch line, rude jokes are typically the hardest ones to resist laughing at.
This probably goes without saying for you or me, but you'd think Queen Elizabeth II might be harder to win over when it comes to jokes that wouldn't pass for a PG rating.
According to MyLondon, some of those around her apparently thought the same, so much so that one person actually attempted to stop her from hearing one particularly crude joke once told by Sir Donald Gosling, former Chairman of National Car Parks, during a naval ceremony.
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A courtier familiar with the situation described what happened, explaining the Queen would 'relish seeing Don because she would know he always had a fresh supply of jokes', but that his 'sense of humour was pretty salty'.
On this particular occasion, Gosling was seated one seat away from the queen, with Labour Defence Secretary Fred Mulley in between them.
Recalling what happened, the source said: "Don was in full flow telling her his latest joke - involving a horse trainer giving Viagra to a runner in the 2.30 at Newton Abbott when the Minister 'put up his hand' and stopped Don, obviously thinking the Queen shouldn’t be exposed to such ribaldry."
Though Mulley obviously thought he was doing the queen a favour, it turned out Her Majesty was 'furious' to the point where she 'berated poor Mulley for ruining the joke'.
"She made Don tell the whole joke all over again and shrieked with laughter at the punchline, which was about the horse winning against stiff competition, or something like that", the source said.
It turns out the Queen has herself been the subject of a few jokes throughout her reign, one of which was revealed by her trusted dresser, Angela Kelly, in her book 'The Other Side of the Coin: The Queen, the Dresser and the Wardrobe'.
Kelly described how the prank took place on April Fools' Day during a 2006 tour of Australia, when she put a stuffed toy version of a kookaburra into a cage on a balcony and convinced the queen it was real, but that it had died.
After revealing the scheme to be an April Fools, the queen is said to have replied, jokingly, 'You're sacked'.
Though I probably wouldn't advise launching in to a Viagra joke or a dead animal prank if you're ever lucky enough to meet the Queen, it's fun to know she's not just about giving serious speeches and wearing incredible co-ord outfits!
Topics: The Queen, UK News, Royal Family
Emily Brown