Pat Boone remembers how he embarrassed himself while meeting Queen Elizabeth II
Pat Boone recalled singing at two royal command performances for Queen Elizabeth II and the royal family. He shared the story of how he "embarrassed myself terribly" while meeting the monarch for the second time.
It’s no secret that Prince Philip had a cheeky side – and one royal photographer found out for himself.
Julian Calder shared his favorite memories about the British royal family to "Hello! A Right Royal Podcast." Queen Elizabeth II, Britain’s longest-reigning monarch, died on Sept. 8, 2022, at age 96. The queen was preceded in death by the Duke of Edinburgh. He died in April 2021 at age 99.
Calder photographed several portraits of the royal couple in their later years, including near Balmoral Castle in Scotland in 2010 and the queen’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012 at Buckingham Palace.
Prince Philip, Queen Elizabeth II's husband, allegedly had a copy of "The Joy of Sex" on his bookshelf, much to the horror of royal photographer Julian Calder. (Matt Dunham - WPA Pool/Getty Images)
According to Calder, courtiers never gave him specific rules when it came to photographing the royals. However, he alleged that he once asked for a classic erotic manual to be removed from the background while he was photographing Philip.
"I once did a portrait of Prince Philip in his office," he told co-hosts Andrea Caamano, Emily Nash and Emmy Griffiths.
"And he was standing there, and I was quite young at the time," Calder shared. "And I’m looking through the lens, I thought, ‘God, just behind his right ear is a book – ‘The Joy of Sex.’ I had to say, ‘Prince Philip, should we move that?’ And he laughed, and he got his equerry to come and move it."
Prince Philip's cheeky side was well documented over the years. (Leon Neal-WPA Pool/Getty Images)
"I’d have looked stupid!" Calder added.
"The Joy of Sex," written by Dr. Alex Comfort, was published in 1972. According to Penguin Random House, the international bestseller "dared to celebrate the joy of human physical intimacy with such authority and candor that a whole generation felt empowered to enjoy sex."
Philip, the longest-serving British consort, and his wife of 73 years were known for their sense of humor behind palace doors. Christopher Andersen, author of "The King," told Fox News Digital that the queen had "a healthy respect for colorful language."
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Actor Brian Blessed alleged that Queen Elizabeth II once dropped the F-bomb to reveal the word's origins. (Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)
"After veteran British actor Brian Blessed blurted out the F-word while telling a racy story on BBC television, the queen pulled him aside during a reception at Buckingham Palace," said Andersen. "’That was a funny story you told, Mr. Blessed,’ Her Majesty said. ‘What I would like to say to you is that the word ‘f---’ is an Anglo-Saxon word. It means ‘spreading the seed.’"
Andersen also noted that the queen’s comical personality would shine at times during public appearances.
"Once a group of tourists, failing to recognize her, asked Elizabeth II if she had ever met the queen," said Andersen. "’No,’ she replied, pointing to her royal protection officer standing nearby, ‘but this policeman has.’"
Prince Philip wasn't shy about using colorful language whenever he was driving his wife. (Evening Standard/Getty Images)
British royal expert Hilary Fordwich told Fox News Digital that when it came to colorful language, Philip wasn’t shy about expressing himself to the queen.
"Back when they were in their 20s, Philip and a young Princess Elizabeth and indeed, of course throughout their lives, spent their summer holidays up in Scotland," she said. "Specifically, the new home of King Charles, at Birkhall, Scotland. They would drive over to Balmoral with their staff piled into the back of their shooting brake (station wagon)."
"According to John Gibson, a footman at the time, Philip would ‘drive like mad over the country roads,’" Fordwich shared. "Princess Elizabeth would implore him to slow down. ‘Philip, Philip, slow down for God's sake, you're killing all the rabbits. What's the matter with you?' He was the only person in the world who would then use unsavory words to tell her to ‘shut up.’"
Like Prince Philip, Queen Elizabeth had a need for speed. (Keystone-France/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)
And apparently, the queen picked up a need for speed from Philip.
"The former crown prince of Saudi Arabia, Abdullah, visited the queen at Balmoral in 2003," said Fordwich. "She offered him a tour of the grounds and surrounding countryside, to which he agreed… She gestured for the crown prince to sit in the front passenger seat of her Land Rover, and then, much to his horror, she took the wheel. This was a time when women were forbidden to drive in Saudi Arabia."
"With her brilliant driving skills, honed during WWII Auxiliary Territorial Service training, she put the pedal to the metal, shocking Abdullah, who implored her to slow down as she careened around the narrow lanes," Fordwich continued. "In the words of British diplomat Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles, who shared this with The Sunday Times, she told Coles that she was chatting to Abdullah the whole time, even while he begged for her to pay attention to the road."
Prince Philip, first lady Nancy Reagan, Queen Elizabeth ll and President Ronald Reagan attend a banquet on March 3, 1983, in San Francisco, California. (Anwar Hussein/Getty Images)
British royal expert Shannon Felton Spence told Fox News Digital the couple made an unforgettable impression in 1983 when President Reagan hosted them. At the time, the couple was visiting San Francisco.
"She asked the plane to continue circling the city because she was switching seats across the aisles with her little camera pointed out the window to take pictures of Brittania, the royal yacht arriving underneath the Golden Gate Bridge," said Felton Spence.
"On that same trip… they unexpectedly had to have the queen and Prince Philip sit on a big yellow school bus," Felton Spence shared. "The chief of protocol apologized profusely but the queen and Philip were so delighted because they had only ever seen buses like that on the ‘telly.’ So they were giggling with each other and taking photos of each other on a school bus."
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Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip married on Nov. 20, 1947. (Topical Press Agency/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
"That’s how their dynamic was – only two people in the world they could be themselves around," said Felton Spence. "They were very much in love for their whole marriage."
And just like in any marriage, the queen would get annoyed with her husband.
Royal author Ingrid Seward previously told Fox News Digital that the couple was on a royal tour of Australia in 1954 when they were given a rare weekend off for themselves. However, the exhausted pair was also in the middle of filming a documentary about their visit. According to Seward, tempers were running high.
Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip in Australia, 1954. (Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
"Their tempers were very frayed," she explained. "This film crew was standing outside their little holiday villa. The next thing they knew, Prince Philip appeared on the balcony, followed by a tennis racket and a pair of tennis shoes thrown at his head. The queen came out and shouted at him to come back. She then grabbed [Philip] and dragged him back inside. Of course, you can imagine how this sort of frumpy press secretary at the time was absolutely terrified."
Seward claimed the royal press secretary demanded the crew shut off their cameras, or they would be arrested.
"He ran over to the crew and said, ‘We cannot have this on film,’" said Seward. "‘This is a disaster. Give me your film. You weren’t meant to be filming this.'"
Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip are survived by their four children: King Charles III, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward. (Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
According to Seward, the film was reportedly handed over to the queen. She later came out to meet the crew and thanked them.
"I am sorry for that little interlude," she reportedly said. "But as you know it happens in every marriage, doesn’t it?"
Similar to Fordwich, Seward said Philip was "quite sharp with his wife."
Several royal experts agreed that Queen Elizabeth II was able to truly be herself whenever she was with her beloved husband Prince Philip. (Alastair Grant/Pool/AFP)
"He used to drive at top speed everywhere, which would make her very nervous," Seward explained. "So she would start to take deep breaths. He would then tell her, ‘If you carry on breathing like that, I’ll put you out of the car.’ There was a time when a person sitting next to her said, ‘Why don’t you tell him off?’ She said, ‘Because I know he will stop the car and put me out!’"
"But the queen [would give] it back just as much," Seward shared. "He would call her a bloody fool and accuse her of talking rubbish. She’ll then speak in riddles as he tries to figure out what she’s talking about."
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