In his first interview ever, Prince Harry has joined his elder brother William in paying a warm tribute to their beloved great-grandmother, the late Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. Speaking to the Press Association Friday at St James’s palace, the young princess painted a fond picture of the fun-loving Queen Mum, whose unique sense of humour kept the family “sane”.
With a mixture of laughter and sadness, the teenage royals, still wearing morning dress from their sombre walk in the morning funeral procession, reminisced about their most memorable moments with their great-grandmum. Wills says his earliest memory was when she came to Birkhall when he was just around six years old, and unexpectedly had to give him a hand. “As I was getting out of the car, I tripped and fell flat on my face, right in front of her,” he recalls. “She helped me up again. It was so funny because she was so old and there was me being hauled off the ground by her.”
Harry said the Queen Mother’s determination was an inspiration to him. “She was determined to do things without help… She was amazing.”
Another priceless memory was created when the Queen Mum stunned the family with a spot-on impression of raunchy comedian Ali G. William begins the story, which took place a few years ago at Christmastime on the Sandringham estate. “We were laughing when she came in,” he recalls. “She couldn’t understand what was going on, so we explained to her what he was doing… She loved it.”
Harry continues the anecdote, telling how the Queen Mum caused the family to erupt into laughter at lunch later that day with a deadpan comment to the Queen. “It was at the end of the meal, and she stood up and said, ‘Darling, lunch was marvellous – respec’, and clicked her fingers.”
Spontaneous comic relief from the Queen Mother was apparently not uncommon, according to her great-grandsons. “Anything that was meant to be formal and went wrong… or was funny for any reason, she laughed herself stupid about it,” says William. “It kept us all sane.”
When a nervous Wills left for St Andrews, the Queen Mum’s parting words put a smile on the future university student’s face. “As she said goodbye, she said, ‘Any good parties, invite me down.’ I said yes, but there was no way. I knew full well that if I invited her down, she would dance me under the table,” he says.
Photo: © Alphapress.com
The young princes related personal stories about their great-grandmother, including her spot-on impression of comedian Ali G and her mischievous parting words to Wills when he left for university. "She was amazing," says Harry
Photo: © Alphapress.com
“Anything that was meant to be formal and went wrong… or was funny for any reason, she laughed herself stupid about it,” says William. “It kept us all sane”
