Heartwarming photo of the Queen laughing with Prince Philip goes viral again after her death
LONDON, ENGLAND: A heartwarming photo that captured Queen Elizabeth II laughing alongside her husband Prince Philip has gone viral for the second time following Her Majesty's demise on Thursday, September 8.
The longest-reigning monarch in modern history passed away on Thursday at the age of 96. The late queen, who was reportedly suffering from ill health and mobility issues for some time now, died at her Balmoral residence just a few days after meeting UK's new Prime Minister Liz Truss on September 6. Buckingham Palace shared a statement earlier in the day saying the Queen had been "under medical supervision" at Balmoral after royal doctors expressed concerns about her health.
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Photographer Chris Young was able to immortalize the happy moment when Queen Elizabeth II laughed as she walked by her husband, who was dressed in full Queensguard uniform. Last year, he explained the backstory behind the photo after it went viral on the internet. The image shows Philip standing off to the side of the Queen as she walked by, grinning from ear to ear. It was originally claimed that Philip was pranking his Queen wife by dressing up as a palace guard, which caused her to laugh.
I love these photos, it shows Queen Elizabeth laughing after Prince Philip "pranked" her by
— Hannah Beedell (@Beedell24) September 9, 2022
disguising himself as a palace guard #princephilip #queenelizabeth #princephilipprank #lovethis pic.twitter.com/Rf0uoXZodC
The photograph is 100% genuine, but the backstory was debunked by some fact-checking websites saying Philip was not pulling a prank. In fact, it captured the sovereign laughing at a swarm of bees that apparently interrupted a ceremonial review of the Grenadier Guards at Windsor Castle.
❌ No, Elizabeth and Philip aren't laughing because he pranked her by dressing as a palace guard.
— snopes.com (@snopes) April 9, 2021
They're actually giggling at a sudden bee swarm causing a ruckus during a ceremony. https://t.co/2gUboDR4hw pic.twitter.com/IGSK8P5aVG
BBC reported how the photo was taken 19 years ago at an event in 2003. Young was the only photographer on site and was able to capture the sweet moment on camera. Philip, who was the colonel of the grenadier guards at the time, was dressed in full uniform to escort the queen. However, as mentioned, the event was hilariously interrupted by a swarm of bees.
"I got lucky," Young told BBC. "I recognized that it was a human moment. She was giggling like a little girl and he was laughing too." He added, “I thought the reaction from both of them was pretty unique. Some of the guests were unsure as to whether they should move, but eventually everyone had to beat a retreat.” Fortunately, a royal beekeeper came in and saved the day after negotiating a truce with the bees. The following day, the candid moments captured by Young were featured on the front page of the newspapers owing to the rare "human moment" caught on camera.
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Queen Elizabeth II is dead, longest-reigning monarch was 96 years old
Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth tied the knot over seven decades ago on November 20, 1946. They met in 1939, when Elizabeth was just 13, while on a family trip where 18-year-old Philip caught her eye. The Greek and Danish prince enlisted in the navy shortly after, but that did not stop the two from courting each other through letters. After returning from service, Philip decided to take the epistolary relationship to the next level and asked King George VI for his daughter’s hand in marriage. The royal couple went on to have four children together—Prince Charles, who is next in line to the throne, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew, and Prince Edward. They also have eight grandchildren, including Prince Harry and Prince William, as well as 12 great-grandchildren, according to Today.