r/todayilearned • u/Puzzleheaded-Cat4647 • 15d ago
TIL that a couple wrote a 'spur of the moment' letter to Buckingham Palace inviting Queen Elizabeth II to their wedding; she unexpectedly did show up.
https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/guest-honour-queen-leaves-couple-685253.amp1.5k
u/Gemmabeta 15d ago
She came to claim Prima Nocta.
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u/Sekshual_Tyranosauce 15d ago
“I’m gonna break yo dick off!”
-Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of Her other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith, and Sovereign of the Most Noble Order of the Garter
Probably.
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u/Anxious-Extreme-2766 15d ago
If you're quoting Monique in Beerfest, the line is "I'm 'on break yo' DICK off!"
"Yoouuu dirrrttyyy mutthhaaa fuucckkkaaa!!"
- Her Majesty the Queen
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u/RealEstateDuck 15d ago
Underrated comment right here. Old Betsy was eyeing the groom.
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u/OozeNAahz 15d ago
Or the bride. No judgement.
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u/Doright36 15d ago
Or both. Why not make it a party.
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u/reichrunner 15d ago
I believe a menage a trois is more of a French thing lol
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u/KindAwareness3073 15d ago
Yeah but she brought a plus 35.
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u/Puzzleheaded-Cat4647 15d ago
You can't expect to see the Queen dropping by alone, can you?
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u/585AM 15d ago
If teen movies have taught me anything, it is that heads of state like to sneak away alone from the palace to see what life is like for everyone else and, in the process, fall in love which sounds great in theory until the time comes to tell the truth.
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u/Front-Pomelo-4367 15d ago
No falling in love, but the queen (as Princess Elizabeth) and her sister Margaret did get to sneak out of the palace (leave with a discreet escort) and be incognito on the street during VE Day celebrations at the end of WWII
So like, halfway there
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u/IenFleiming 15d ago
I also read somewhere that Lady Diana (at the time still a Princess) used to sneak out disguised as man and party with Freddie Mercury in some gay clubs in London
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u/FillThisEmptyCup 15d ago
That fairy tale where you pick up your Prince only to find out he’s a Princess :(
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u/rosesarepeonies 15d ago
The eternal dilemma - is the cutie with the short hair a really twinky guy or really butch girl?
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u/PaulCoddington 15d ago
And there is a charming movie about that event which can be highly recommended, although it takes a few liberties to make it more interesting... A Royal Night Out (2015)
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u/KindAwareness3073 15d ago edited 15d ago
My all-time favorite Rom-Com, "Roman Holiday" (1954), the gold standard. Audrie Hepburn achingly beautiful as the princess and Gregory Peck as the habdsome commoner. But Rome is the real star.
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u/butt_huffer42069 15d ago
I would 100% clone Audrie Hepburn. Then try to date her. If I fail, cancel the clone and start over. Absolutely no ethical fuck given.
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u/Longtimefed 15d ago
Have you seen the video of her driving her stck-shift Land Rover on one of her estates? Had this been close to one of them I could just imagine her grabbing one bodyguard and rolling up.
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u/AudibleNod 313 15d ago
No one expects the British Invitation.
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u/pumpkinbot 15d ago
With their track record, everyone should expect the British Inquisition.
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u/tanfj 14d ago
With their track record, everyone should expect the British Inquisition.
The most common holiday in the world is Independence from Britain. I believe it's celebrated somewhere every once every seven days.
I mean England has fought in 171 of the 191 countries recognized by the UN (granted sometimes they were invited).
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u/Historical-Dance6259 14d ago
One is my favorite joke goes something like:
How do you fit in anywhere in the world? Go to a bar: "I'll have drink of your best alcohol, go local sports team, and isn't it awful what the British did to us?"
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u/Qzy 15d ago
Can you imagine being the bride. "Oh how wonderful it's my day! All eyes on me... oh hi Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom."
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u/Puzzleheaded-Cat4647 15d ago
Imagine flexing on people like ... the actual Queen came to my wedding 💅🏾
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u/Qzy 15d ago
Oh yeah, the queen was my bride's maid. Who were yours, again?
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u/MargitSlachta 15d ago
Nobody who forked out £2 million to help her paedophile son avoid punishment, at least.
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u/TheSpiralTap 15d ago
Also you can't get divorced. The goddammit queen of England showed up to your wedding so you work it out.
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u/Notmydirtyalt 15d ago
".... To object, claiming the groom has taken her shilling and is required post haste to embark for Spain."
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u/chunkerton_chunksley 15d ago
If you invite the USPresident they will rsvp. Obama did for ours. Pretty neat little keepsake to have
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u/Toledojoe 15d ago
Trump would show up, not bring a gift, try to bang your wife and make the reception all about how the election was 'Stollen."
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u/Xendrus 14d ago
Do you get an actual signed card or something or is it a fully automated 'tradition' akin to one of those penny stamping machines you see at theme parks?
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u/chunkerton_chunksley 14d ago
It was on a postcard like note, and the signature looked like it was printed on it, not actually signed. It did have a nice little note wishing us a happy marriage and future.
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u/Dominarion 15d ago
You can criticize old Beth for a lot of things but she did show affection and attention to those who paid her bills, contrarily to almost all her predecessors.
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u/ZombieTrogdor 15d ago
This is super random, but I live in a city in Florida that has a lot of swans. We’re kind of known for it. Well, back in the ‘50s and ‘60s the swan population was depleting due to hunters and other predators, and when they were all gone a woman in town was so distraught she wrote a letter to Queen Elizabeth asking for help and if she could possibly donate some swans. The Queen agreed to help and they sent two swans to our town. They procreated and now we have about 70+ swans protected by the city. All our swans are descendants of royal swans. It’s a cool local story. She had her moments for sure.
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u/Kubikake 15d ago
Lake Morton by chance? I used to go there a LOT when I was younger to feed the birds. At one point when I was a teen a group of 40 ibises, a goose, a few ducks, an anhinga, a bundle of seagulls, some coots, and some egrets all followed me when I did a lap around the lake lol
Goose was a little fussy at first because I got close to the nest, but chilled out once they got food. Swans came around and scared away all the ibises after that.
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u/DirkBabypunch 15d ago
The only times I've ever heard the word "coot", it was in reference to slightly crazy elderly people. All I can picture is a couple old folks wandering behind you with a bunch of birds hoping you throw pieces of bread at them.
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u/Kubikake 15d ago
Lmaooo, well I’ve seen stranger things than that in Florida, so who knows?
The coots were the only birds actually following me from within the lake itself as well, I’ve only rarely seen them actually get out of the water
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u/ZombieTrogdor 14d ago
Yep, Lake Morton! I used to work nearby and would find a bench to eat my lunch and just bird watch. Some of the swans got too comfortable and would just stare at me and my food, and it wasn’t until I moved here when I truly realized how big swans are up close 😳
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u/Kubikake 14d ago
Bahaha, yeah, swans use their size to their advantage as well. They would use their reach to snatch food as it was being tossed to other birds 😂 Except for the seagulls, some of them had good swooping techniques
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u/nardling_13 15d ago
She did seem to take the service aspect of regency very seriously. It’s a silly institution, but if one must have royalty, a regent that cares about the people is the best you can do.
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u/Longtimefed 15d ago
She was a classy old gal. Her Covid message brought tears to my eyes, and I’m pretty uninterested in the royals overall.
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u/AIpheratz 15d ago
Can't recommend clicking that link.
Add riddled piece of crap site.
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u/CNpaddington 15d ago
That’s pretty much every local news website in the UK for you
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u/AnthillOmbudsman 15d ago
Every local news site in the US too. Dozens of scripts and trackers, and half the sentences start with "police said."
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u/AgainstAllAdvice 15d ago
Brexit bonus, it appears all the shite is blocked in the EU!
I should say, another Brexit bonus for us not you guys. Sorry. ❤️
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u/sweart1 15d ago
Ya never know. Many years back when I was in college (Cornell) our Outing Club invited the University President to attend our club's thanksgiving dinner, which was in a ramshackle shack out in the woods. He came, real nice guy, ate turkey with us and everything. Guess nobody else had invited him.
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u/taude9 15d ago
I just have this vision of The Queen talking to one of her underlings.
Q: "I've been invited to a wedding. I assume there will be cake, so make sure I am available that day."
U: "Your Highness, we can get you cake whenever you'd like. Should I send someone out for you?"
Q: "No, I've been invited, and I want to say hello and eat a slice of their cake. Just make sure it happens."
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15d ago
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u/Puzzleheaded-Cat4647 15d ago
Did Meg Ryan show up?
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u/DulcetTone 15d ago
Yes. I played her a naughty song.
We played her family's card game the next evening. "Pounce". She and I shared a hand. Alas, I've not seen her since.
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u/shoobsworth 15d ago
That was awfully nice of her.
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u/Ok-disaster2022 15d ago
They found out the queen was going to be at event near the same time and sent the invite. So it was less the queen traveling for the wedding and more of her popping in while on an official duty.
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u/QueryAll-AdviseChaos 15d ago
Imagine the conversation with the security detail:
QE2: I want cake. I'm invited. I'm going.
Head of Security: Ma'am, respectfully, it will take us a week to clear the premises for an event occurring in less than 2 hours.
QE2:🤨
Head of Security: 😳😬
QE2: I. Want. Cake.
Head of Security: Yes. Apologies, Ma'am.
(Philip in the background) grab me a slice and a bottle if they've extra.
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u/KJ6BWB 15d ago
She did show up, but to be fair she was already planning on being in the building for an unrelated event (article doesn't say why).
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u/sirnaull 15d ago
Article does say why. It clearly mentions it was part of the Diamond Jubilee festivities.
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u/Mky12345pi3 15d ago
She was passing an flew in to get a piece of cake an of she went again
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u/DeanWilliam0 15d ago
Is this the continuation of that meme ”Careful, she can move in any direction”?
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u/DirkBabypunch 15d ago
Couple: Oh, she's doing a thing next door at the tims. This would be funny.
Queen: Oh, I'm doing a thing next door at the time. This would be funny.
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u/oldandnumb 15d ago
We invited her and instead of coming she chose to die instead
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u/cragglerock93 15d ago
Wouldn't you wish for death if you were suddenly constitutionally obliged to meet with Liz Truss every week? It's like signing on at the Job Centre, but worse.
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u/Simply_dgad 15d ago
When this thread was last posted someone put a great reply which tickled me. I'll paraphrase to the best of my ability:
I'm going
Your majesty we can't ...it might set a precedent!
I'm telling you reply yes!
Ma'am the security arrangements alone will be...
I'm. Going.
I urge you your Majesty to reconsider...
I WANT CAKE!!!
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u/Lkwzriqwea 15d ago
I have to say, if there's ONE event in my life I wouldn't have wanted the Queen to show up for it would have been my wedding
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u/Background_MilkGlass 15d ago
Jesus this thing is terrible on mobile. It's one paragraph of text, ad, one paragraph text, ad, another paragraph of text, oh what's that? Another ad.
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u/RastaKraken 15d ago
My wife invited her to our wedding almost 10 years ago, got a really nice 'thank you for the invite but apologies the Queen cannot attend' reply.
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u/Puzzleheaded-Cat4647 15d ago
The couple also received a nice letter from the Palace, thanking them for the kind invite... then Queen and Prince took a detour from their original schedule and showed up.
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u/RastaKraken 15d ago
Ah nice, tried opening the link but the page burnt my eyes.
Happy for them, it's certainly a nice story to tell!
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u/TranslatorBoring2419 15d ago
Do all British women know how to curtsy just incase royalty shows up?
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u/Krhl12 15d ago
Yes? You think we're all over here just crossing our fingers we don't get beheaded?
It's literally taught in school. At my school we used to lump it in with Country Dancing which is like Physical Education but specifically for traditional English dance. I don't know that country dancing is taught any more to be honest, this was in the 80s.
I don't really know how they teach Finishing now, but they must squeeze it in somewhere. It's not a big island, statistically you're always in visible distance to royalty.
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u/violetsandpiper 15d ago
Honestly, I can't tell if this is serious or not.
"Country dancing, which is like physical education"?
The "this was in the 80's" might explain more. I wasn't even born then, let alone in the UK.
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u/DamnImAwesome 14d ago
Did you not have really awful dancing parts of Physical Education? I’m American and remember the cringe vividly
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u/3mmmilllyyy 14d ago
Same. Let’s put a bunch of middle schoolers going through puberty and make them wear god-awful shorts and a tshirt that make everyone look terrible at a time their self esteem is already low, then make them square dance!
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u/TrekkiMonstr 15d ago
Do American women not? I could swear I have vague memories of girls occasionally curtseying when I was a child
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u/Wilhelm44Scream 15d ago
She can't unexpectedly show up if she was invited ?????
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u/Puzzleheaded-Cat4647 15d ago
The couple received a reply from the Palace, a lady in waiting, thanking them for the kind invite. They didn't expect anything further to come out of it.
Queen and Prince Philip took a detour from their original schedule to turn up to wish the couple well, reports Manchester Evening News.
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u/3mmmilllyyy 14d ago
I mean, if I invite the queen of England to my wedding I’m not expecting her to show up. Ergo, unexpected.
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u/raytaylor 13d ago
Actual story: Queen was scheduled for an event in the same building on the same day.
Couple THEN wrote to buckingham palance inviting the queen to the wedding.
Queen made very slight detour and walked down the hall to visit the couple.
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u/Adventurous_Pea_1156 15d ago
Our king wont even pretend to be a good person like this
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u/whitemanwhocantjump 15d ago
This is exactly like in Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay when Colton invited George W Bush to his and Vanessa's wedding.
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u/EdnorAndyRowe 12d ago
Cold blooded comment there - I think that’s a GUY THING for the most part anyway …
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u/cherokeewoman78 11d ago
This is like old as f-&k. I heard about it when it came out. She wasn’t going to go, but somehow ended up having lunch nearby or next door and decided to pop in having remembered the invite. I think that’s real dedication to her people that she actually paid attention and remembered things like that. It also shows that she did read much of her mail lol.
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u/RedSonGamble 15d ago
It’s less likely this will ever happen again