Queen Elizabeth and her grandson Prince Harry had a close bond during most of her lifetime. The monarch and the fifth in line to the throne could often be seen giggling together, and it was obvious that they genuinely enjoyed each other’s company.

As Harry put it in an interview with People magazine, “My grandmother and I were very close, and we very much did have a special relationship,” adding: “I miss her dearly, as well as her cheeky sense of humor and quick wit.” The bond they shared meant he also didn’t shy away from pulling a prank on her—and we love both his idea and her reaction to it!

So let’s forget for a minute how the royal family drama unfolded following Harry’s wedding with Meghan Markle (and their decision to quit “The Firm”), and just celebrate the sweet relationship between “granny,” as Harry called the queen, and the prince. Keep reading to find out all about this hilarious moment.

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What prank did Prince Harry pull on Queen Elizabeth?

Prince Harry pranked his grandmother by recording a cheeky voicemail message on her private cellphone. As Bryan Kozlowski revealed in his book Long Live the Queen: 23 Rules for Living from Britain’s Longest-Reigning Monarch, the late monarch, like many of her age, relied on her grandkids to keep up with the latest technology.

But maybe Harry wasn’t quite the best person to trust in that regard!

When the late queen asked him to record a voicemail message for her, he sneaked off with her phone and returned with a message that would surely have left callers in stitches: “Hey, wassup? This is Liz! Sorry I’m away from the throne. For a hotline to Philip, press 1; for Charles, press 2; for the corgis, press 3.”

The queen’s private secretary, Robin Janvrin, was reportedly mortified, but the monarch herself, known for her good sense of humor, thought it was hilarious.

When did Harry pull this prank on the queen?

Prince Harry, Prince Andrew, Duke of York, and HM Queen Elizabeth II, The Queen, watch the flypast over The Mall of British and US World War II aircraft from the Buckingham Palace balcony on National Commemoration ANWAR HUSSEIN/GETTY IMAGES

Unfortunately, we don’t know exactly where and when the incident happened. But according to media reports, Elizabeth was given her first cellphone in 2001, when Harry was in his mid-20s. So we guess it’s safe to say that it probably happened around that time.

It was the queen’s son Prince Andrew who gifted Elizabeth her first cellphone, apparently a Samsung. He thought she should have a personal phone to stay in touch with the rest of the family. In reality, though, it seems the queen took calls only from two people—and Andrew wasn’t one of them! The two lucky recipients were her daughter, Anne, and her racing manager, John Warren (remember, the queen was a huge fan of horse racing).

Interestingly, the queen reportedly enjoyed texting but never quite warmed up to the apps.

Did any of Queen Elizabeth’s other relatives ever prank her?

Very likely, but, unfortunately, the palace has done a great job at hiding it from the public. At least one funny story made it through, though: After Elizabeth’s husband, Prince Philip, died, Prince William revealed in a BBC interview how Philip and his grandchildren loved to pull a prank involving mustard tubes: “He (Prince Philip) enjoyed messing around with the children and being a grandfather. 
 He used to take the lid off and put it in your hands 
 and then he’d squish your hands together to fire the mustard onto the ceiling.” Peter Phillips, son of Princess Anne and brother of Zara Tindall, added with a grin that the mustard marks were probably “still there” today.

Unlike the kids, the queen wasn’t a big fan of Philip’s little game. “He used to get in a lot of trouble from my grandmother for covering most of the places we had lunch and things with mustard on the ceiling,” William recalled.

Did Queen Elizabeth ever pull pranks?

Absolutely—the British monarch could have doubled as the queen of pranks! One of our favorite examples? After Elizabeth died in 2022, her former royal protection officer Richard Griffin told the world how she once pranked two American tourists she met near Balmoral Castle, her Scottish holiday home.

The pair clearly didn’t recognize the monarch in her casual clothes and headscarf, and chatted her up, asking where she lived and if she’d ever met the queen. Elizabeth, according to Griffin, explained that she lived in London but liked to spend her days off in Scotland, then pointed to him and cheekily said while she personally hadn’t met the queen, he had because he was a cop.

One of the American hikers immediately handed his camera over to the queen and asked her to take a picture of him with her protection officer. We can only imagine the faces of the two hikers when they later found out who they’d actually met that day (if they ever did)!

Elizabeth didn’t shy away from pranking her own husband either. In 1965, she surprised Philip by wearing a fake beard when he returned with a real one after months traveling around the Commonwealth. Years earlier, and before marrying her husband of over seven decades, she sneaked out of Buckingham Palace with her sister, Margaret, and partied at the Ritz hotel in London, successfully pretending all night long to be a regular girl.

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Why trust us

Reader’s Digest has published hundreds of stories on the British royal family, providing a behind-the-scenes look at the fascinating facets of the monarchy. We regularly cover topics including the latest royal news, the history and meaning behind time-honored traditions, and the everyday quirks of everyone’s favorite family members, from Queen Elizabeth’s daily snack to Prince William’s confessions about his home life. We’re committed to producing high-quality content by writers with expertise and experience in their field in consultation with relevant, qualified experts. We rely on reputable primary sources, including government and professional organizations and academic institutions as well as our writers’ personal experiences where appropriate. For this piece on Prince Harry’s prank, Astrid Hofer tapped her experience as a London-based journalist with more than 20 years of experience covering topics including the British royal family. Read more about our team, our contributors and our editorial policies.

Sources:

Long Live the Queen: 23 Rules for Living from Britain’s Longest-Reigning Monarch by Bryan Kozlowski
Elizabeth: An Intimate Portrait by Gyles Brandreth
BBC One: “Prince Philip: The royal family remembers”
BBC: “Royals recall Duke of Edinburgh’s mustard joke”
Independent: “‘One of the most memorable nights of my life’: The true story behind Queen Elizabeth and Princess Margaret’s escape from the palace”
People: “Prince Harry shares what he misses about Queen Elizabeth—including her ‘cheeky sense of humor’”
Express: “Queen had her own mobile phone—but had one strict rule all royals HAD to follow”
Express: “Queen’s hilarious pranks—including when she wore a fake beard to mock Prince Philip”
Hello!: “Prince Andrew gives the queen her first mobile phone”