Cast your mind back to a young Prince Harry. Remember that adorable, cheeky grin? The Duke of Sussex was once known as the most mischievous grandchild of the late Queen Elizabeth II. Perhaps that shared sense of fun is why they had such a ‘special relationship’, one Prince Harry has spoken about at length over the years.
Despite concerns for their bond since he chose to step back from senior royal duties, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Harry remained close and often video-called during lockdown so Her Majesty could see Harry’s eldest child, Archie – Lilibet wasn’t born at the time, but her name alone is a nod to the Queen, clearly a huge influence on Harry’s life.
‘I’ve spoken more to my grandmother in the last year than I have done for many, many years,’ Harry said during his March 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey. ‘My grandmother and I have a really good relationship and an understanding. And I have a deep respect for her. She’s my Colonel-in-chief, right? She always will be.’
But the roots of their close bond are even more adorable than the image of Harry teaching his grandmother to Zoom. According to a number of royal reporters and former staff members for the royal family, Prince Harry was quite the prankster as a child when it came to the Queen.
One notable prank involved Harry getting hold of the Queen’s phone and changing her voicemail recording, giving private secretary Robin Janvrin the ‘shock of his life’, according to royal correspondent Katie Nicholl.
In her 2010 book, William and Harry: Behind the Palace Walls, she says Harry changed the Queen’s voicemail message to ‘Hey, wassup? This is Liz! Sorry, I’m away from the throne. For a hotline to Philip, press one, for Charles press two, for the corgis, press three.’
The tomfoolery didn’t end there, Harry also pranked his grandmother with gag gifts throughout his childhood. One year, after his mother bought Harry a fake poo as a stocking filler for Christmas, Harry pranked the Queen with it. And former royal butler Paul Burrell also told OK! Magazine that Harry once put plastic flies in the Queen’s sugar bowl, much to her disbelief.
‘I know the Queen very well and I know she’s very fond of Harry,’ Paul said in 2020. ‘As William would sit and have tea with her after school, Harry would come and put plastic flies in the sugar bowl! It was hilarious. Harry was the only one who could trick his granny.’
The gag gifts are said to be a royal tradition at Christmas, with Harry once gifting the Queen with a shower cap emblazoned with the phrase 'Ain't life a bitch’.
Of course, known for her quick-wit herself, the Queen always saw the fun side of Harry’s pranks – even partaking in one for the Obama’s during the 2016 Invictus Games.
Adorable.