From Dawn French jokingly telling King Charles she’d show him her beaver, to Ed Sheeran breaking royal protocol by touching Charles’ arm, we revisit the most cringeworthy moments that could make anyone blush
As one of the oldest monarchies in the world, the British royal family has a net worth in the billions. But this doesn’t stop them being like the rest of us when it comes to making mistakes, doing embarrassing things or getting caught up in awkward moments. The only difference for them is their blunders are often made public, like the following incidents…
Dawn French jokingly told King Charles she’d show him her beaver!
When Queen of Comedy, Dawn French bumped into King Charles, the pair had a hilarious encounter neither of them would forget in a hurry.
Speaking on Virgin Radio in 2023, Dawn was explaining how the then Prince of Wales was at the same event and “he was coming down the line, greeting everybody.”
Explaining how the rude joke came about, Dawn went on, “He started it because he had been to see A Midsummer Night’s Dream that I was in. And he said to me, ‘Well, the last time I saw you, I saw your Bottom’, referring to the character Bottom in Midsummer Night’s Dream, that I played.”
“And I thought, ‘Right, we’re off.’ And I said, ‘Tonight, Sir, you will see my Beaver!’
At the time, Dawn was voicing the role of an animated Beaver in The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe.
The late Queen’s chef ran away from her ‘scary’ corgis
Making a good impression in front of your boss is important for everyone, especially when your boss happens to be Queen Elizabeth II, Britain’s longest-reigning monarch.
Alas, for former royal chef Darren McGrady, the Queen’s beloved corgis led to a really funny moment.
On a YouTube video, per Insider, Darren shared, “I saw in the distance the Queen and the corgis, and I got really excited. The Queen was walking towards me and I thought, ‘this is gonna be really cool, I get to meet the Queen for the first time.’ As she got closer, the dogs saw me, came running towards me, barking like crazy, all of them.
“I was so scared I turned around and ran away. The Queen was laughing.”
Princess Margaret told Twiggy her name was unfortunate
Princess Margaret, the late Queen’s younger sister, unleashed her rebellious streak when she met iconic 1960s model, Twiggy.
Recalling an incident when the pair met, Twiggy explained to The Express, “Princess Margaret asked, ‘What’s your name?’ I said, ‘My name’s Lesley Hornby, Ma’am, but everyone calls me Twiggy.'””She just looked at me and said… ‘Oh, how unfortunate’. Then she didn’t talk to me again.”
“I was mortified.”
However, the royals made it up to Twiggy in 2019 when she was presented with a Damehood.
The late Queen told Lewis Hamilton off for his bad table manners during posh lunch at Palace
The Formula 1 star’s achievements have seen him meet the royal family on several occasions.
In 2009, he was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire, MBE, with his honour handed out by Her Majesty herself – and was later invited to an intimate Palace lunch to celebrate, where he actually had the honour of sitting right next to the Queen – but that didn’t mean he could speak as freely with her.
“She was to my right and I started to talk to her and she’s like, ‘No, you speak that way first and I will speak this way and I come back to you,'” he explained.
“So she spoke to the guy next to her for like five minutes and then she spent the rest of time talking to me.”
Ed Sheeran breaches royal protocol by touching Prince Charles as he receives MBE
In December 2017, singer Ed Sheeran was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE).
He was presented with his honours from the then Prince Charles at Buckingham Palace.
During the Investiture ceremony, Ed made an embarrassing gaffe in terms of protocol by touching the now King’s arm instead of simply shaking his hand, breaking royal rules.
“Apparently, I did a big faux pas, though. I shook his hand and then grabbed it and you’re not meant to do that,” he shared on US television show, Today.
The late Prince Phillip asked Cate Blanchett how to work a DVD player
When Academy Award winning star Cate Blanchett was invited to Buckingham Palace, she never would have guessed what Prince Phillip was going to ask her.
“There were 12 of us, and I couldn’t work out for the life of me why I’d been invited,” the actress said in an episode of Jonathan Ross which aired in 2018.
“I sat next to [Philip] and he said, ‘I hear you’re an actor? I was given a DVD player for Christmas and I can’t work out whether I put the green cord in or the red cord.”
“I thought, ‘He’s invited me to lunch to tell me about his DVD player,'” she added, laughing.
Kate Middleton’s dress nearly blew up
In New Delhi in 2016, as Princess Kate Middleton laid a wreath to honour Indian soldiers who served in World War, a strong gust of the wind nearly blew up her dress.
Luckily, she held it down like a pro, but it’s no wonder the royal women have reportedly taken to wearing bodysuits to prevent any future mishaps. According to Myka Meier, founder of Beaumont Etiquette, Kate and Meghan now wear under-layers “that actually increase static so it’s much harder for something to fly up.”
