Rare moment Queen Elizabeth II hits back at royal rule breakers with brutal 3-word response

Queen Elizabeth II was one of the most universally loved members of the British royal family, for her dutiful attitude, graceful demeanour and how she always remained calm. However, above all, she was only human like the rest of us, and there were some instances where she was seen losing her composure, including one time when she shouted at her grandsons, Prince William and Peter Phillips, when she caught them chasing a young Zara Tindall around the garden.

There was also one instance where the mother of King Charles did actually have a go at a photographer – and for a good reason. 

Queen Elizabeth shouting at photographers

Another time the late Queen lost her cool was shown in the 2002 documentary The Queen: A Remarkable Life.

Footage showed the monarch watching her husband Prince Philip carriage driving.

The voiceover explained: “In Windsor Great Park, the Queen was watching Philip doing some carriage driving. However, she is not amused when a crowd of nosy photographers gets in her way.”

Queen Elizabeth II was seen addressing the photographers, asking them to disperse by gesturing to them, before being forced to shout: “Do you mind?”

It is not an explicit obligatory rule, however, it is viewed as custom and courtesy to not walk in front of the Queen when meeting her, for various reasons: etiquette often suggests walking slightly behind or alongside the Queen, as she was the highest-ranking person present, and it is often considered rude to have your back to the monarch. According to the family’s official website, “there are no obligatory codes of behaviour – just courtesy.”

Queen Elizabeth II’s misrepresented moment with a photographer

Five years later, the late Queen was involved in a photoshoot with Annie Leibovitz, the American photographer behind some of the most iconic pictures of the 20th century such as the last picture of John Lennon and Yoko Ono before his murder.

During the photoshoot, which was being filmed as part of a documentary called A Year With The Queen, the BBC cameras caught a moment when Annie was telling the late Queen that she would look better if she removed the crown for a picture.

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In response, the monarch seemed rather shocked, asking: “Less dressy? What do you think this is?” She was also filmed later saying: “I’m not changing anything. I’ve had enough dressing like this, thank you very much.” 

The trailer for the documentary shown to journalists had a clip of the Queen walking out; however, it turns out that this widely circulated story had been misrepresented, and that the trailer was never meant to be seen by the public or press, prompting the BBC to issue a public apology for the mistake.