A look at the Queen’s best jokes ahead of her Jubilee as she marks 70 years on the throne | UK News

“Are you supposed to be looking as if you’re enjoying yourself?” the Queen once asked Boris Johnson at a G7 summit.

It was during the photo-op, and even Her Majesty couldn’t resist breaking the awkward silence while they all sat in their chairs having their picture taken.

The prime minister replied “Yes, definitely” before telling her which camera she needed to look at.

Prince Philip would often hit the headlines with his jokes, while the Queen has been known for putting the people she meets at ease with her light-hearted conversation.

But that doesn’t mean the Queen, 96, doesn’t enjoy a good chuckle herself.

Here’s a look at some of Her Majesty’s funniest quips.

Jokes with the press that she doesn’t matter

During an event at Sandringham House in 2022, she was presented with a cake to mark her Jubilee year.

It was pointed out to her that the cake was upside down.

After being told that this was so the press could see it, she said: “Oh so THEY can see it. I don’t matter.”

She had the last laugh with President Bush

During an official welcome ceremony on the White House lawn in 2007, Mr Bush mistakenly said the Queen had helped celebrate the US bicentennial in 1776 – he meant 1976.

Rather than take offence, she opened her speech the following night with a toast to the president and said: “I wondered whether I should start this toast by saying, ‘When I was here in 1776…'”

All the guests and Mr Bush then burst into laughter.

In his speech afterwards, Mr Bush responded: “Your Majesty, I can’t top that one.”

Royal baby hampering her travel plans

The Queen once surprised schoolchildren with her candid answer when she was asked a question about her new great-grandchild when Kate was pregnant with Prince George in 2013.

While the Queen was on a series of engagements in the Lake District, Fay Batey, a 10-year-old pupil at Wiggonby CofE Primary School, asked: “Do you want Kate’s baby to be a boy or girl?”

The Queen replied: “I don’t think I mind.”

She then quipped: “I’d very much like it to arrive… I’m going on holiday.”

When she noticed her cup was empty in a portrait

During the height of the pandemic in 2020, the Queen was forced to carry out her royal engagements through video call.

This meant she could only view the new painting by Miriam Escofet, the winner of the 2018 BP Portrait Award, on screen.

Despite the unconventional unveiling, the Queen still managed to spot something in the portrait.

Ms Escofet said afterwards: “She seemed to react very positively to it. She was smiling, asking how long it took and if I had any more projects on the go after this.

“When I explained certain elements of the painting, the tea cup, she made some amusing comments.

“She said ‘but there’s no tea in the cup’.

“I said I’m afraid the tea has been sacrificed for the symbolism.”

Thanks for making me feel old, Justin

At a banquet for Commonwealth leaders in Malta in 2015, the Canadian prime minister shared a joke in his address as he welcomed the Queen about all her trips to Canada.

Justin Trudeau mentioned one when she was nine and another when she was welcomed by his father, Pierre Trudeau, who was prime minister at the time.

When the Queen stood up to make her speech, she opened with: “Thank you, Mr Prime Minister of Canada, for making me feel so old.”

A sundial in the shade?

The Queen and Sir David Attenborough joked with each other in the palace gardens in 2018, which was filmed for the ITV documentary The Queen’s Green Planet.

When they walked through the palace gardens, the renowned environmental advocate noted that the sundial had been “neatly planted in the shade”.

The Queen replied sarcastically, with a straight face: “Isn’t it good, yes.”

She then looked off camera, asking her head gardener and laughing: “Had we thought of that? That it was planted in the shade? It wasn’t in the shade originally, I’m sure. Maybe we could move it.”

It was later revealed that they did indeed move the sundial out of the shade.

Her answer to ‘Are you well?’

Perhaps tired of constantly being asked whether she is well, the Queen gave an unusual reply to Martin McGuiness, the deputy first minister, during a visit to Northern Ireland in 2016.

He asked: “Are you well?” to which she said: “Well, I’m still alive anyway.”

Read more:
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‘Most addresses are pompous’

And she should know, she’s sat through hundreds of them in her 70 years on the throne.

This one, however, she seemed to really like.

During an event in Sandringham in 2022, the Queen was presented with a copy of a “Loyal Address” written by primary schoolchildren.

It said: “You have shown a caring manner, determination and dedication to help other people. We think you’re doing a great job! We are very lucky to have had you as our Queen for so long.”

After reading it, Her Majesty said: “Most addresses are usually pompous… this is so much nicer.”