FACT CHECK: Does This Photo Show Prince Philip ‘Pranking’ Queen Elizabeth?

Trevor Schakohl | Legal Reporter

An image shared on Facebook purportedly shows the late Prince Philip “pranking” Queen Elizabeth II by dressing as a royal guard.

Verdict: False

While Prince Philip was wearing the uniform of The Grenadier Guards, he wore it because he was a colonel of the guard, not to prank the queen.

Fact Check:

The queen announced the death of her husband, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, on April 9. He was 99 years old and had been married to her for 73 years, CNN reported. (RELATED: Does This Photo Show Queen Elizabeth Bowing To Former Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie?)

The April 9 Facebook post shows Prince Philip wearing a red-and-black uniform with a blue sash and a tall, furry hat while holding a sword. Both he and the queen are smiling. “Prince Phillip (sic) pranking the queen by dressing as the royal guard,” the image’s caption reads.

The photo, however, does not show Prince Philip imitating a member of the royal guard. Prince Philip has been photographed wearing the same uniform he’s wearing in the Facebook image several times over the years. The attire is that of The Grenadier Guards, according to the caption of a 2001 Getty Images photo. He was a colonel of The Grenadier Guards for 42 years, Reuters reported.

Additionally, the Facebook photo does not show the queen laughing at her husband’s attire. Through a reverse image search, Check Your Fact found the photo was taken at Windsor Castle in April 2003 and actually shows her laughing at a swarm of bees, according to the image’s caption on Reuters.

“Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II watches as a swarm of bees encircle chairs on the lawn of Windsor Castle in Berkshire April 15, 2003,” the caption reads. “The Queen was amused on Tuesday when a swarm of bees delayed proceedings during her review of the Grenedier (sic) Guards at Windsor.”

The image in the Facebook post appears to be circulating online recently in the wake of Prince Philip’s death. BBC News reported in an April 10 article that Chris Young, the photographer who took the photo, said he recognized it as “a human moment.”

“She was giggling like a little girl and he was laughing too,” Young said. “I thought the reaction from both of them was pretty unique.”

Trevor Schakohl

Legal Reporter
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