Queen’s hilarious response after Balmoral tourists fail to recognize her on country walk

The Queen had her usual summer break at Balmoral Castle earlier this year and though she prefers to keep a low profile while at the rambling estate, she once had a particularly hilarious response after a group of tourists failed to recognize her.

• The Queen travels to Scotland for her summer vacation most years—she uses the time to relax out of the royal spotlight. 
• After coming across a group of tourists who didn’t recognize her, Her Majesty’s sense of humor shone through in her hilarious response.  
• This royal news comes after Prince Charles reveals exciting new TV project with Amazon Prime. 

The Queen makes the most of her annual summer break by vacationing at Balmoral Castle. Long considered to be one of Her Majesty’s favorite royal residences, Princess Eugenie once told an ITV documentary that she believes her grandmother “is the most happy there”. Throughout their 73-year marriage, the Queen and Prince Philip made many wonderful memories at Balmoral together. This year the Queen traveled to Scotland for her first vacation since Philip's passing in April.

Her Highlands home offers the Queen the chance to relax away from the royal spotlight, enjoying countryside picnics and walking her dogs. While these annual trips also allow Her Majesty to enjoy private quality time with her family, as she often invites her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren to join her. And it seems that her efforts to keep a low profile have sometimes been even more successful than she might have imagined. 

As reported by The Times, former royal protection officer Richard Griffin claimed that one year, a group of American tourists failed to recognize her at all—and the monarch had a truly brilliant response. 

The Queen was reportedly out walking on her Aberdeenshire estate, wearing a simple headscarf and tweed coat as she opted for a more relaxed countryside look compared to her colorful formal attire. According to Richard, the group approached the Queen and asked her whether she lived locally, to which she responded that she had a house nearby.

The group are then said to have asked whether she had actually met the Queen, at which point the monarch’s sense of humor really came to the fore. 

“No, but this policeman has,” she reportedly replied, gesturing to the protection officer.

Richard, who worked with the Royal Family for over 30 years, revealed that the group then went on their way, completely unaware that they had now met the Queen themselves.

This is not the first time the monarch’s ability to produce a hilarious response has been showcased throughout her reign. In June, the Queen revealed her royal sense of humor with a hilarious quip at the G7 summit during a photo-call with world leaders.

Now the Queen has returned to England for fall but we're hoping she might come across more tourist groups during her walks near Balmoral Castle again next year!