Skip to main contentSkip to footer

The Queen's most memorable encounters with wildlife


March 17, 2016
Share this:
queen elizabeth1 © Photo: Getty Images

In April 1940, a young Princess Elizabeth visited the aviary in the grounds of the Royal Lodge, Windsor, with her mother Queen Elizabeth and younger sister Princess Margaret.

queen elizabeth2 © Photo: Getty Images

The royal family enjoyed a visit to London Zoo in May 1939, where a 13-year-old Princess Elizabeth reached out to a chimpanzee while her sister Princess Margaret looked on.

queen elizabeth3 © Photo: Getty Images

Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret also got to meet a panda during their day trip to the zoo.

queen elizabeth4 © Photo: Getty Images

The royals often visited London Zoo together, and were accompanied by their nanny Miss Crawford to see the wildlife in 1938.

queen elizabeth5 © Photo: Getty Images

On the same trip the young Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret were photographed with the penguins as they toured London Zoo.

queen elizabeth6 © Photo: Getty Images

The Queen enjoyed regular visits to the zoo as a child, and is pictured here with a chimpanzee in the early 1930s.

queen elizabeth7 © Photo: Getty Images

Queen Elizabeth ll and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh watch sea lions being fed during a visit to the Institute of Oceanography in February 1983 in San Diego, California.

queen elizabeth © Photo: Getty Images

King George VI joined his daughters Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret for photos next to an aviary in the gardens of Windsor Castle in July 1946.

queen elizabeth8 © Photo: Getty Images

Queen Elizabeth came face to face with koalas during a visit to a wildlife park in Brisbane during her official tour of Australia in October 2011.

queen lions1 © Photo: Getty Images

The Queen was joined by Prince Philip to officially open the new Land of the Lions exhibit at ZSL London Zoo on Thursday - the zoo she so often enjoyed to visit as a child.

Sign up to HELLO! Daily for all the latest and best royal coverage

By entering your details, you are agreeing to HELLO! Magazine User Data Protection Policy. You can unsubscribe at any time. For more information, please click here.

More Royalty

See more