Watch Queen Elizabeth crack a subtle joke about Donald Trump and Barack Obama
It's not often that we get to see the funny side of the Queen, but when we do, she sure knows how to make her viewers laugh. While giving Sir David Attenborough a tour of her private gardens at Buckingham Palace for a nature documentary, the monarch cracked a joke about the US president Donald Trump and former president Barack Obama.
The queen took a dig at both the presidents in a clip released Tuesday from her upcoming ITV special, “The Queen’s Green Planet.” The documentary highlights an ambitious environmental project, The Queen’s Canopy, to safeguard forests around the world via the 53 countries of the Commonwealth.
In the video, the Queen attempts to say something to host Attenborough but was unable to do so because of the noise from the loud helicopters hovering over. “Why do they always go round and round when you want to talk? Sounds like President Trump,” she says as Attenborough laughs, before skillfully adding, “Or President Obama.”
From her statement, it is really not clear whether she is referring to Trump and Obama's helicopters, or to the men themselves. However, it was quite an uncharacteristic remark from the Queen, since the British royals tend to generally shy away from anything that would show a political affiliation or bias.
“It is extremely rare for any member of the royal family to actively comment on political and cultural movements, as the British royal family, which is a constitutional monarchy, are meant to be above politics and related matters,” William Hanson, a British etiquette expert and coach, had said in an interview previously.
The elderly monarch also spoke about planting trees in her back garden for each of her four children: Charles, Anne, Andrew and Edward, and also revealed that there are 1,400 trees in the palace grounds.
In another display of her quick wit and humor, the Queen said, “Are you sure that’s meant to be like that? Somebody sat on it I think at a garden party,” when the host asked her to ignore a bent sapling because it “doesn’t seem to be doing very well.”
The Queen also talked about her family’s Christmas tree traditions, particularly when it comes to ornaments.
“This is always the problem . . . The children love knocking those off,” she said. “Well, my great-grandchildren do. And the great thing is to make them decorate it . . . And they’re a bit more careful.”
The Queen’s Green Planet is fully set to air on ITV in the U.K. on April 16.