The late Queen Elizabeth II was beloved for many reasons, but one of her most universally admired character traits was her calm yet stern temperament. She was always collected, composed and dutiful.
That being said, she was still only human and broke her composure on a couple of occasions, some of which were during her public appearances. However, there's one famous occasion where the Queen supposedly lost her composure that has been widely misunderstood.
© AFP via Getty ImagesIn 2007, the mother of King Charles was involved in a photocall with Annie Leibovitz, the legendary American photographer behind some of the most famous images of the 20th century such as the last picture of John Lennon and Yoko Ono before his murder.
During the shoot, which was being filmed as part of a documentary called A Year With The Queen, the BBC cameras captured a moment when the famed photographer was telling the late Queen that she would look better if she removed the crown for a picture.
© PA Images via Getty ImagesA few of Annie's words were caught, seemingly saying: "It would look better… less dress… because the garter robe…"
In response to this, the monarch seemed rather shocked, asking: "Less dressy? What do you think this is?" She was also filmed later saying: "I'm not changing anything. I've had enough dressing like this, thank you very much."
Queen Elizabeth's reaction was misrepresented
The trailer for the documentary, which was shown to journalists, showed a clip of the Queen walking out; however, it turns out that this widely circulated story had been misrepresented.
© FilmMagicAfterwards, the BBC and production company RBF Media released a joint statement apologising for incorrectly implying that the Queen had walked out of the photoshoot.
They claimed that the trailer was never meant to be seen by the public or press and was shown to journalists "in error". The statement continued: "Unfortunately, this assembly was given in error to the BBC personnel who were preparing the BBC One autumn launch tape."
Queen Elizabeth lost her composure with Prince Philip
However, there was one time when the late Queen really did temporarily lose her composure. During a royal tour of Australia in 1954, she and her husband, Prince Philip, had an argument while staying in Victoria, where she was seen "hurling a tennis racket and shoes" at him as he burst out of the cottage in which they were staying.
In his recently released book, The Windsor Legacy, royal author and expert Robert Jobson writes that Queen Elizabeth had seen a camera crew who had come out to film a staged moment with koalas and quickly took her husband back into the cottage, having realised that they were nearly seen mid-argument. Luckily, a soundman had exposed the film and given it to her press secretary, who gracefully accepted it.
The royal experts write that she 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?"
