Queen Shock: The TRUTH About Queen Elizabeth II Once Hiding In A Bush!
In one of the most amusing royal stories ever told, Queen Elizabeth II apparently once hid in a bush because there was a house guest she didn't want to see.
Excuse Me, Royalty
In the recent ITV documentary titled "Inside the Crown: Secrets of the Royals," it was revealed that the Queen has gone to great lengths to avoid speaking to one of her more controversial guests.
Per E! news, it was in 1978 when Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceaușescus and his wife Elena made an official visit to Buckingham Palace. It was only customary that the couple was invited to a sit-down dinner with the members of the royal family.
While the 94-year old head of the British monarchy was not new to meeting with controversial public figures -- including Vladimir Putin of Russia, Zimbabwe dictator Robert Mugabe, and Syrian leader Bashar-Al-Assad -- she wasn't very eager on meeting the said leader.
The Romanian dictator was in London for a four-day official visit, but the thought of it didn't sit well with the public.
Journalist and filmmaker Robert Hardman revealed in the documentary that the British press were very vocal about their thoughts about the Romanian dictator.
"The press started to question the foreign secretary. Why are we inviting this monster to come to Britain?" Hardman said.
The Queen and Prince Philip greeted Ceaușescus and his wife at the Victoria train station in London. As per tradition, the royal couple took an open-top carriage ride with the dictator and his wife to Buckingham Palace.
While she may have been courteous to follow the royal protocol, Queen Elizabeth II didn't like how she needed to interact with the Romanian dictator.
"On the occasion when they were staying she took the corgis out for a walk in the palace gardens and she could see the Ceaușescus coming the other way," said Hardman. "She thought, 'I really can't face talking to them,' so the first and only time in her life, she actually hid in a bush in the palace gardens to avoid her guests."
British Foreign Secretary Lord David Owen confirmed what happened in the documentary.
"The Queen puts up with many different people, but Ceaușescu was too much for her," he remembered. "She made it quite plain she didn't like that visit."
It remains unknown if Ceaușescus ever saw what the Queen did. If he did, perhaps the Queen intentionally hid in the bush as a way of sending the message across.
Royal Family Life
The Queen was supposed to have guests over for another one of her Buckingham Palace Garden parties. However, since the advent of the coronavirus pandemic, most of the Queen's royal events this year were canceled.
More than 8,000 guests were expected to gather in the beautifully manicured lawns of Buckingham gardens. It was a way of recognizing the excellent public service that these chosen guests do.
The garden party may have been canceled, but the royal family took it to social media to pay tribute to some of the guests, including Evelyn Karstadt -- an elderly volunteer who was recognized for her outstanding work in Barking and Dagenham.
Dr. Sanjiv Nichani, a charity founder and Consultant Paediatrician at the Leicester Children's Hospital for over 20 years, would have been honored in his year's garden party as well.
"To all of this year's guests - thank you for your service, and we look forward to seeing you at Garden Parties next year," the Royal Family tweeted.
The garden parties are an important event for the Queen as it is when she meets people who have had a positive impact on the community.
