in Funny, So That Happened

Queen Elizabeth Manhandles Crown In Rare BBC Interview—And Twitter Is All About It

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Her Royal Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, doesn’t give many interviews. She doesn’t have to. After all, she’s the Queen, and literally doesn’t answer to anybody—as we’ve learned from The Crown, prime ministers have to come to her to get her blessing, for example. Plus, it’s not like she ever has anything to promote. Lizzy never has an album or movie coming out that she has to talk about on Fallon and Kimmel. She simply continues existing as she has for six decades, as the robed and jeweled figurehead of the British Empire.

But we humans are a sentimental bunch, and we love to commemorate the anniversaries of things, particularly when they end in a “5” or “0.” The year 2018 marks the 65th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation. (Fun fact: She’s the longest serving monarch in British history.) This marks the rare time that the Queen must begrudgingly sit for an interview with the BBC, because she gives the people what they want, and the people want her to talk about all the fun and fancy parts about being the Queen, particularly her coronation.

Amidst questions about the crown jewels and what the 1953 ceremony was really like, the Queen gives a thorough inspection of the Crown. As in the Crown. It’s purple and covered in gems. While many would and should be quite reverent and careful with the thing, Queen Elizabeth II isn’t. This is all old hat to her, and also she’s the Queen and can do whatever she wants. The result: When asked to move it closer, she’s quite sloppy, careless, and rough with the priceless artifact.

Twitter found it all to be a refreshing, hilarious straying from the “proper” behavior for which the Queen usually embodies and is expected to exhibit.