The Duke of Edinburgh, 99,
used to chase the Monarch, 94, and their young children up and down the royal
corridors donning false teeth just to make them laugh.
Courtiers described the act as
one that would have the Queen “screaming with laughter” and
the private affair became public knowledge when she sat down to record her
first-ever televised Christmas message in 1957.
According to The
Telegraph, she was racked with nerves at the time and froze in front of the
cameras.
But once Prince Philip got
wind of her nervousness he said to “remember the wailing and gnashing of
teeth” which instantly made her smile.
It’s believed that no one else
in the room understood the reference, or why it was relevant at the time, but
as soon as the Queen heard the words the recording could go ahead.
Prince Philip used to make the Queen and their children – Prince Charles, 71, Princess Anne, 69, Prince Andrew, 60, Prince Edward, 56, – laugh with practical jokesCredit: Getty – Contributor
Nicholas Davies in his book
titled Elizabeth II: Behind Palace Doors revealed that the Queen loved
practical jokes and that her husband Philip would often joke around with her.
Aside from chasing her down
corridors, Nicholas revealed that the Duke once put a dummy snake in her powder
box to amuse her.
Joe Little, the managing editor of
Majesty Magazine, recently told Hello!
magazine that Prince Philip is “such an important ingredient in
[the Queen’s] success and happiness.”
Adding: “He makes her
laugh, he’s got a slightly naughty sense of humour, a sense of the ridiculous
that keeps her amused.”
