Though the late Queen Elizabeth II was known for her calm, collected and composed temperament, there were a few known occasions where she lost her temper, including once with her grandsons, Prince William and Peter Phillips, as children, when she saw them chasing young Zara Tindall around the garden.
One of the most entertaining stories about an 'off-day' comes from when she was a child, which seems especially surprising as she was known to be rather mature for her age compared to her excitable younger sister, Princess Margaret.
© Universal Images Group via GettyThe story resurfaced following the release of royal author Craig Brown's newest book, Q: A Voyage Around The Queen, after first being shared in a book written by royal nanny Marion Crawford, titled The Little Princesses.
In Q, the royal author writes about the "one single act of disobedience" in Elizabeth's childhood days, calling it a "peculiarly startling" event, taking place during one of her French lessons with the teacher that they refer to as "Mademoiselle".
According to the royal nanny's testimony, she heard "curious sounds" coming from the room, writing: "I found poor Mademoiselle shattered and transfixed with horror." She explained that "Lilibet, rebelling all of a sudden, and goaded by boredom" had just poured a "big ornamental silver inkpot" over the teacher's head.
Describing the sight, she wrote that Mademoiselle was sitting with "ink trickling down her face and slowly dyeing her golden curls blue," and the incident left her so overwhelmed that she "had to retire and drink water".
© Print Collector/Getty ImagesThe royal author noted that "the rest of [the late Queen's] life was measured and obedient and considerate," which made the specific incident stand out even more.
When the story first came out in the book penned by Marion Crawford about her time as the governess to Queen Elizabeth and Princess Margaret, she was shunned by the royal family and left her grace and favour house at Kensington Palace, as she had not been given approval to author it under her own name.
Queen Elizabeth rarely lost her cool
During a royal tour of Australia in 1954, the late Queen was seen in the midst of an argument with her husband, Prince Philip. In his book, The Windsor Legacy, royal author Robert Jobson wrote about an incident where she burst out of a cottage "hurling a tennis racket and shoes" towards Prince Philip.
He elaborated that Queen Elizabeth saw a camera crew who had come to film a staged moment with koalas. Realising that she and her husband were about to be seen arguing, she quickly ushered her husband back inside the cottage.
The royal expert writes that the late Queen quickly regained her composure, re-emerged from the cottage smiling and said: "Sorry for the little interlude. It happens in every marriage. Now, what would you like me to do?"
