British royals are expected to always maintain a certain grace and decorum,
but occasionally, it falls away, and they show a flash of anger
in public. These are some of the most memorable examples of that happening.
Well into adulthood, Prince William still got told off by his granny. The
world witnessed an example during the Trooping the Colour ceremony in 2016. During the event,
the royal family stands on the Buckingham Palace balcony each year to watch the Royal Air Force fly
over. Things didn't go as smoothly as they normally do in 2016, however. Young Prince
George clearly didn't feel like standing still for more than a few seconds. William bent down
and tried to reason with his son, but this seemed to displease Queen Elizabeth II, who was caught
on camera seemingly ordering her grandson to stand up. William, looking bashful, obliged immediately.
The moment was perfect meme material, and the internet clearly got a kick out of
seeing the future king of England being put in his place. Brandon McGinley, editor at
Eternal Word Television Network Publishing,
shared a GIF of the scolding on Twitter, and it quickly went viral. McGinley wrote,
"Come for the queen scolding William, stay for the George facepalm."
It turned out that George was simply shielding his eyes from the planes passing overhead. The queen's
furious face can't be explained away, however. She definitely lost her temper on this occasion.
Prince Harry served two tours in Afghanistan during his decade in the British Army. The
prince reportedly felt more like a "normal" person when he was away with the armed forces, which is
why he lost his temper big time when one of his deployments had to be cut short. The press somehow
discovered Harry's location, putting the royal and the rest of his regiment at risk. Harry was
hauled home, and according to one royal expert, Duncan Larcombe, the prince was not pleased.
"He was absolutely furious. Where did he go? With Chelsy, straight to Botswana."
"Chelsy" is Harry's ex-girlfriend, Chelsy Davy. Harry also spent time in Botswana
after his mother's sudden passing, and it remains a haven for him to this day.
According to Prince Philip's friend Gyles Brandreth,
the late duke loved to burn rubber. Brandreth once said on BBC's Today,
"I have been in a car with him and I have to say he drives really well."
Brandreth shared one particular instance where Prince Philip's
driving style was apparently too much for his other half. He said,
"The queen was sort of yelping and drawing in her breath and flinching
as he drove so fast. And Prince Philip turned to her and said,
'Look, if you do that once more I will put you out of the car.'"
Evidently, Lord Mountbatten, who was in the car too,
was stunned when the queen didn't push back against Philip's remark. Brandreth
says Mountbatten asked the queen about her reaction, and she replied,
"Oh you heard what he said and he meant it."
Author Ingrid Seward shared a similar account
of Elizabeth and Philip's dynamic behind the wheel, telling People,
"He always drove really fast, and she hated it, and he would say,
'If you don't like it, you can get out.'"
In 2019, Philip flipped his car on its side. He blamed the sun getting in his
eyes for the accident. He came out unharmed,
and the passengers in another car that was involved were treated for minor injuries.
In 1987, Prince Edward was in charge of producing a TV show called "It's a Royal
Knockout." In the documentary "Edward & Sophie: The Reluctant
Royals?," Richard Kay described the event as "toe-curling," while Rebecca English declared,
"Seeing members of the royal family taking part in silly games,
while it's all very fun and for a good cause, it's not something they should be doing."
Prince Edward was the first to approach the journalists at a press conference after the
show. According to Express, when he asked what everyone had thought of the show,
he was only met with silence and members of the
press laughing nervously. That's when he lost it. UPI quoted him as saying,
"Well, thanks for sounding so bloody enthusiastic.
One day you lot are going to have to learn some manners."
On another occasion, before Edward married his wife Sophie, Express notes that a reporter
asked Edward about the possible wedding during an interview. The royal replied,
"If you shut up, mind your own business, and let me do it when I want, it's much more likely to
happen. The more people second-guess, the less likely it is. I just won't do it."
On a nice day in January 2021, Prince William and his wife Kate Middleton
decided to go out on a family bike ride around Anmer Hall. Then a man with a camera showed up
unannounced. William got rather heated when he saw the photographer, saying,
"You're outrageous, you're disgusting, you really are."
A year and a half after the incident, video of the encounter was broadcast on Sky News
Australia. The photographer can be heard claiming that he didn't realize who they
were until he got up close. But Kate maintained she'd spotted him lurking near their property.
A spokesperson told Reuters of William and Kate,
"They are obviously concerned over a period of time established a pattern
of behaviour that we think amounts to harassment
of Prince George and of his nanny ... It's more the fundamental weirdness of
two grown men following a 14-month-old baby around London that we're concerned about."
Just after he became king, in September 2022,
King Charles was signing a document in Northern Ireland's Hillsborough Castle.
He was apparently struggling with the pen, and the whole thing was caught on camera.
"I can't bear this bloody thing! [mumbling] Every stinking time!"
Leaky pens aren't the only things that ruffle the king's feathers. While spending some time with
his sons at the Klosters ski resort in the Swiss Alps in 2005, Charles took some time to chat with
some reporters. It was all good and well until Nicholas Witchell of the BBC asked a question.
According to the Evening Standard, after Prince William told the reporters that
he was looking forward to his father's upcoming wedding to Camilla Parker Bowles,
Witchell asked Charles if he and his sons were excited about the nuptials. Evidently,
this repeat question annoyed Charles, and he replied,
"It's a very nice thought. I'm very glad you've heard of it, anyway."
Moments later, Prince Harry could be heard laughing as Charles said,
"Bloody people. I can't bear that man. He's so awful. He really is."
Witchell told the Evening Standard that he was caught off guard, saying,
"I don't know why he reacted as he did. It was one
of those occasions that should have been positive and wasn't."