The Queen has a wicked sense of humour and is known for always making light of an uncomfortable situation.
A royal insider recalled the time that Sir Donald Gosling told the Queen an incredibly crude joke about horses, and how her aides stepped in and tried to stop her from listening to it.
They recalled: "HM would relish seeing Don because she would know he always had a fresh supply of jokes, but his sense of humour was pretty salty," according to MyLondon.
On one occasion, during a naval ceremony, Mr Gosling was seated one place away from The Queen, with Labour Defence Secretary Fred Mulley in between them.
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The source said: "Don was in full flow telling her his latest joke - involving a horse trainer giving Viagra to a runner in the 2.30 at Newton Abbott.
"The Minister put up his hand and stopped Don, obviously thinking the Queen shouldn’t be exposed to such ribaldry.
"HM was furious - and berated poor Mulley for ruining the joke. She made Don tell the whole joke all over again, and shrieked with laughter at the punchline, which was about the horse winning against stiff competition or something like that."
But Her Majesty doesn't just like to listen to jokes, she is well known for pulling a prank or two of her own.
On one occasion, when her right-hand woman Angela Kelly played a cruel practical joke on her, she responded in a typical witty way - by jokingly telling her she was sacked.
Angela, who has worked for the Queen for many years, revealed the trick she played on her boss during a Royal Tour of Australia in 2006.
Writing in her book The Other Side of the Coin, the dresser said she bought a stuffed toy version of a kookaburra and convinced a "horrified" Queen that it was a dead one.
Having purchased the toy at a nearby market, Kelly then placed it in a birdcage on the balcony outside the royal suite in Governor’s House.
She recalled: “The Queen looked outside and shouted 'It's a kookaburra!'
“I went to open the cage and she said loudly, ‘No! Don’t do that! It will fly away!'
"Turning to her Majesty while trying to keep a straight face, I solemnly told her it was dead. She looked horrified as I walked towards her with outstretched arms and as she took the bird from my hands, she realised I had been winding her up."
Kelly continued: "'April Fool!' I said with a mischievous grin, and she only had two words for me, 'You're sacked!'
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