Queen Elizabeth Once Spent 17 Minutes on a Prank Phone Call — Yes, Really
Ever wondered how a phone call with Queen Elizabeth II would go? Well, wonder no more because the late monarch spent nearly 20 minutes on a prank call in the ‘90s. What was discussed with the “incredibly relaxed” queen on the call. Plus, how it brought on a major change at Buckingham Palace.
An impressionist pretended to be Canada’s Prime Minister on a 1995 prank phone call with Queen Elizabeth
Impressionist Pierre Brassard prank-called Queen Elizabeth in 1995 when he claimed to be then-Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien. Per Mirror, the conversation lasted approximately 17 minutes. The subject: a referendum on Quebec’s independence.
Set up by CKOI FM, the station calling the palace, being connected to the queen, and Brassard claiming to be the Canadian leader.
Discussing the upcoming referendum, the impressionist asked the queen if she’d be willing to make a speech about it. (The queen replied she could possibly “do something.”) They went back and forth between French and English before the queen requested the details be faxed over.
All in all, nothing of the greatest sensitivity was discussed. However, the prank phone call on Queen Elizabeth did make headlines at the time.
Queen Elizabeth sounded ‘very lively’ and ‘relaxed’ on the prank phone call, according to experts
Royal experts agreed in The Queen: In Her Own Words, the prank phone call showed the queen’s more informal.
“She hasn’t got the formal voice on. And she comes across as incredibly relaxed and enjoying the encounter,” Richard Kay, a royal expert said. “It’s absolutely extraordinary. She picks up the call as if it’s an everyday thing, and of course, it was an everyday thing. That’s one of the great things about the queen, she does speak to the Prime Ministers of the Commonwealth countries all the time.”
Royal expert Jennie Bond remarked on the prank phone call, saying the queen seemed ” very lively, very personable, [and] friendly toward her Prime Minister. She’s very willing to help, even though it’s an extremely difficult diplomatic and political situation for her, making her views known about a referendum.”
As for the queen speaking French on the call, Bond noted how it demonstrated her fluency.
“You always think when you hear the queen speaking French that it’s all prepared and spelled out phonetically,” the expert said. “But actually, she’s very good at French.”
Ultimately, the prank changed Buckingham Palace’s protocol for incoming calls. Every call is now put through to a private secretary before the queen calls back on a separate line.
Kate Middleton later became the target of a 2012 prank phone call
Nearly 20 years after the Queen Elizabeth prank phone call, Kate Middleton, the now-Princess of Wales, became the subject of one. Except, this time, radio DJs spoke to hospital staff, not the royal herself.
In December 2012, two Australian radio DJs from Sydney’s 2Day FM station called King Edward VII Hospital and claimed to be Queen Elizabeth and her son, the now-King Charles III,” per CNN.
Audio of the call, which later went up online, detailed the DJs’ short conversation with Kate’s private nurse in which they discussed the royal’s condition.
At the time, Kate was there receiving treatment for Hyperemesis Gravidarum, a severe form of morning sickness, while pregnant with her and William’s first child, now 10-year-old Prince George.
Since then, Prince Harry’s also received a prank call.
