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From photobombing to cutting cakes with swords, Queen Elizabeth II's pop culture moments showed off her unmatched humour

Since the early hours of September 9, news feeds have been flooded with sombre headlines about the death of Queen Elizabeth II.

Whether it be skydiving with James Bond or refusing to sit on the Iron Throne during a Game of Thrones visit, this round-up of the Queen's most memorable pop culture moments will help lift your spirits.

Skydiving with James Bond for the 2012 Olympics (2012)

No one would have thought the Queen would team up with filmmaker Danny Boyle and 007 himself, Daniel Craig, to film a comedic sequence for the 2012 Olympics opening ceremony in London.

In the parody, Her Majesty arrives at the opening ceremony in style — parachuting into London Stadium with Bond himself. 

Twitter user @TSting18 posted the video and shared some thoughts about the sequence.

"I think Queen Elizabeth had a great sense of humour and she was a good sport," they said. 

Visiting the Game of Thrones set (2014)

In 2014, the internet lost it at the sight of the Queen standing next to the actual Iron Throne during a visit to the Game of Thrones set in Northern Ireland.

She also met the show's actors Maisie Williams, who plays Arya Stark, and Sophie Turner, who stars as her sister Sansa.

We all wanted to believe that the then 88-year-old would be bingeing the series.

But alas, the Queen had never actually watched the show.

During an interview with Graham Norton, Kit Harrington, who played Jon Snow, revealed the Queen had no clue who he was when she asked him, “What do you do on this production?” 

Harrington also said the cast and crew essentially begged her to sit on the throne.

However, the Queen's team refused, explaining: “She’s not allowed to sit on other thrones, fictional or otherwise.”

Photobombing an Australian hockey star's selfie (2014)

The Queen joined a long tradition of royals photobombing selfies. 

Olympian and ex-Hockeyroos star, Jayde Taylor, was taking a selfie with one of her teammates, when the Queen crept up behind them.

And she’s smiling! 

Jayde gleefully posted the shot to her Twitter account.

Meeting Winnie the Pooh (2016)

In a stroke of luck, the Queen turned 90 the same year as AA Milne’s beloved character, Winnie the Pooh.

The birthdays of both famous figures were celebrated in his 2016 children’s book, in which Pooh travels with Christopher Robin to Buckingham Palace to visit the monarch.

“It must be a very great thing to be 90 years old,” Pooh says at one point.

Smack talking with the Obamas for the Invictus Games (2016)

Then-US president Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama issued an Invictus Games challenge to the Queen and Prince Harry, with the Americans joking the royals should "be careful what you wish for".

In the video posted on the official Kensington Palace Twitter account, the Queen responds to the warning with a comical "Oh, really?"

There's even a royal mic drop.

The Queen cutting her cake with a sword during G7 (2021)

Queen Elizabeth II will cut cakes however (and with whatever) she sees fit, thank you very much. 

During a visit to the organisers of the Big Lunch during the G7 summit in Cornwall, the Queen was presented with a large sheet cake. 

With Kate Middleton and Camilla Bowles watching, the British monarch insisted on using a ceremonial sword to cut the cake. 

A video from the cheeky moment shows Her Majesty pausing as someone off-camera reminds her there is a knife.

“I know there is,” the Queen replied back, before stating she wanted to use something “more unusual".

Paddington Bear having a cuppa with the Queen (2022)

Day three of Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee celebrations closed with quite a show in front of Buckingham Palace.

The concert opened with a skit of the Queen sitting down to tea with fellow British icon Paddington Bear. 

Despite being characteristically polite and well-meaning, poor Paddington made a bit of a mess of the spread.

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