A Couple Had Jokingly Invited The Queen to Their Wedding in 2012 — And She Actually Showed Up

The late Queen Elizabeth II was known for her stoic sense of duty, but behind the scenes, she also had a cheeky sense of humor. She once accepted a ‘joke’ invitation from a couple from Manchester who had invited her to their wedding in 2012. All eyes and mouths hung open in shock when the Queen made a surprise appearance at John and Frances Canning’s wedding. As it turned out, it coincided with one of her royal visits to Manchester.

As reported by the Manchester Evening News, the Cannings had sent an invitation to Buckingham Palace and got a response from the Queen's lady-in-waiting. Frances told the outlet, “We booked the town hall ages ago, but we got a phone call four weeks ago telling us that a VIP would be in the building on the same day.” She added, “The staff asked us to wait for a moment in the corridor, and just a few minutes later, the Queen arrived. She knew both our names, and apparently we had been especially added to her rota.”

The nuptials, which took place at the Victorian Manchester Town Hall, also saw the Queen's husband, late Prince Philip, enter the hall flashing a grin. John said, “The Queen asked how we were feeling, and congratulated us. Prince Philip was asking where in Italy we were going for our honeymoon. They had clearly been briefed about what we were doing.” The attendees of the last-minute ‘royal’ wedding were left flabbergasted upon seeing the late monarch and her husband. One of the guests said, “All of a sudden, the Queen and Prince Philip were there in front of us. I was so surprised I knocked something over...she looked at me and asked if I was okay.” Another guest shared, “We had to have security checks in advance...But we thought we would be kept well away from the reception.”

John also spoke highly about the Queen’s sense of humor in an interview with the BBC. The Queen's lady-in-waiting had initially informed him that she would not be able to attend his nuptials. He added, “Little did we know it had already been arranged a long time before.” He summed, “It was a lovely present from them to us, one of the best presents you could wish for.”

This wasn't the only incident when the Queen's quirky sense of humor was on full display. Her former royal protection officer, Richard Griffin, once recounted a funny incident involving a group of American tourists who had no idea what the Queen of England looked like. Unlucky for them, they ended up asking the late monarch herself if she had ever met 'The Queen.' She jokingly answered, "Well, I haven't, but Dickie here meets her regularly," referring to Griffin by his nickname. Interestingly, the tourists took a picture with Griffin and asked the Queen to click the same. After they left, the monarch reportedly quipped, "I'd love to be a fly on the wall when he shows those photographs to friends in America. Hopefully, someone tells him who I am."