Queen Elizabeth Found This Awkward Encounter With A Former President Totally Hilarious

Queen Elizabeth II had tons of funny moments over the course of her life. The beloved royal's great sense of humor was one of the many wonderful qualities she was praised for both during and after her historic 70-year reign. In fact, Prince Harry once told People, "I miss her dearly, as well as her cheeky sense of humor and quick wit," following the queen's heartbreaking death in September 2022. The late monarch proved she could not only crack jokes but also take one too. Her former aide Angela Kelly wrote in her memoir that Her Majesty was fully onboard with the now-iconic, and totally hilarious, James Bond skit at the 2012 London Olympic Games, which featured a stuntman dressed as the queen jumping out of a helicopter.

Likewise, historian and biographer Anthony Seldon confirmed to the BBC that despite Her Majesty's lavish outfits and demure appearance, she "[didn't] take herself too seriously," later adding, "[She was] able to laugh off misfortune and keep going." Hence why the queen quickly made light of an awkward mishap involving Former President Gerald Ford rather than getting offended by it. Journalist and royal author Robert Hardman, who penned three biographies on Queen Elizabeth II, noted in the Daily Mail that Ford was hosting a state dinner at the White House in 1976 for the then-monarch when the band made an embarrassing gaffe. 

As the president "led the queen on to the floor for the first dance," they started playing "The Lady Is a Tramp." The song choice, which was pretty rude considering who the guest of honor was, sparked very different reactions from President Ford and Her Majesty, however. According to Hardman, "Ford was incandescent afterwards. And the queen? She thought it was hilarious."

Queen Elizabeth II met and spent time with plenty of world leaders, including 13 of the 14 men who became American presidents, during her seven decades on the British throne. But, one thing younger royal fans might not be aware of about the queen was that she had no problem poking fun at these leaders — typically in front of them, too. In 2007, she showed President George W. Bush that it's never a good idea to age up a woman, even accidentally. The then-president made a massive mistake during his welcome speech at the White House by claiming Her Majesty visited the U.S. in 1776 rather than 1976. 

As payback, the queen joked during her dinner toast to Bush the following night, "I wondered whether I should start this toast by saying, 'When I was here in 1776.'" The audience burst into laughter, including the president, who admitted during his own toast, "Your Majesty, I can't top that one," (via Reuters). The queen also showed off her dry British humor at the 2015 Commonwealth summit in Malta. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau toasted her reign by highlighting how there had been 12 PMs since the queen's 1953 crowning, to which she quipped, "Thank you, Mr. Prime Minister of Canada, for making me feel so old," per The National Post.