Royals

Queen Elizabeth Scolds an Adorable Pony Who Broke Royal Protocol During Their Meeting (Awkward!)

Updated

9 years ago

April 3, 2018

Closer Staff

Someone needs a lesson in royal protocol!

The prospect of meeting Queen Elizabeth would invite many a sleepless night. Do you curtsy? Bow? Do you look Her Majesty directly in the eyes? Who speaks first? It’s undoubtedly a minefield of etiquette rules.

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And one cute little pony who was introduced to the Queen this week certainly struggled to understand royal protocol. On Wednesday, July 5, Her Majesty paid a visit to Stirling Castle in Scotland with her husband, Prince Philip, to celebrate her 70th anniversary as Colonel-in-Chief of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders. There, she was met by one very keen member of the crowd.

queen elizabeth getty images

Queen Elizabeth meeting a horse at a past royal event. (Photo Credit: Getty Images)

A Shetland pony was introduced to the Queen — and Her Majesty lovingly petted the animal in return. But it turns out, the horse was much more interested in the bunch of fresh flowers Queen Elizabeth was grasping in her hands!

And as the pony tried to nibble the bunch, the 91-year-old Queen responded, “Go away!” She then tapped the horse on the nose and tutted under her breath, “They always eat the flowers!”

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That’s one member of the public who blew their one opportunity to impress Her Majesty!

Interestingly, Prince Harry made headlines earlier this summer for breaking royal protocol himself while visiting with fans at an event. At the time, the 32-year-old greeted people outside the Sydney Opera House while promoting his 2017 Invictus Games in Sydney, Australia — and, due to a storm, well-wishers ended up drenched while waiting to see Harry at the venue.

While scanning the crowd, Harry spotted an old friend, Daphne Dunne, and ran towards her in the rain to give her a quick kiss on the cheek! The pair first met back in 2015, when Prince William’s younger brother was working with the Australian Defense Force.

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“He kissed me on the other cheek this time,” Daphne gushed to The Telegraph at the event. “He really is a lovely young man and he’s warm and genuine and really cares about the injured servicemen and women, he’s doing a fantastic job supporting them.”

This story originally appeared on Grazia Daily.