Sweet resurfaced video highlights Queen's quick-witted response to David Attenborough's joke about shaded sundial at Buckingham Palace

Queen Elizabeth II was interviewed by Sir David Attenborough at Buckingham Palace for a one-off documentary special in 2018

Queen's witty response to David Attenborough's joke resurfaces in sweet video
(Image credit: Getty)

Royal fans have been fondly remembering Queen Elizabeth II's humor after a video of her joking with Sir David Attenborough resurfaced in the wake of her death. 


The Queen showed off her sharp sense of humor during a nature program in 2018, much to the delight of her adoring royal fanbase.

Speaking with Sir David Attenborough for the ITV documentary, The Queen's Green Planet, Her Majesty delivered a hilarious response to the English environmentalist's joke about her sundial at Buckingham Palace. The 'magical' clip is just one of the many sweet memories of the Queen, who made history as Britain's longest-serving monarch, to have resurfaced online in the days following her death at Balmoral Castle last week

As the two friends stroll around the palace's lush gardens, it suddenly occurs to David that a sundial has been strangely situated in the shade. 

"A sundial, neatly planted in the shade," the 91-year-old remarks, pointing at the horological device's impractical location. 

"Isn't it good, yes?" the Queen replies, clearly aware of the irony of the dial's placement. The late monarch then breaks out into a chuckle before turning her face to a person off-camera to ask, "Had we thought of that? That it was planted in the shade?" She then insists, "It wasn't in the shade originally", suggesting "maybe we can move it." 

In the same conversation, the Queen makes a candid comment about her own mortality after David predicts "there will be all kinds of different trees growing here in a hundred years, maybe."

"Might easily be, yes," the Queen agrees, before adding with a knowing smile, "I won't be here though." At the time of filming the documentary, both the Queen and David Attenborough were 91. 

At another point, the Queen comments on the noisiness of the helicopters over Buckingham Palace's gardens. 

"Sounds like President Trump, or President Obama," she said, prompting yet another chuckle from David. 

Queen

(Image credit: Getty)

Royal fans were quick to share their reaction to the entertaining interaction between the two, who had reportedly been friends for over half a century. 

"Watching The Queen and David Attenborough speak and interact together was always awesome, two incredible voices together," one person wrote on Twitter.

"Two British giants. Today, only one of them still walks this Earth," another remarked. 

David paid tribute to the Queen following her death, declaring the 'whole nation' to be 'bereaved' by the passing. 

“If there was a technical hitch, she wanted to know what it was, and if it had a funny side, she was quick to see the joke.

“Yet not for one second could you forget that you were in the presence of someone who had willingly accepted enormous responsibility and dedicated her life to serving the nation – that you were, in short, in the presence of royalty.”

Emma Dooney
Lifestyle News Writer

Hailing from the lovely city of Dublin, Emma mainly covers the Royal Family and the entertainment world, as well as the occasional health and wellness feature. Always up for a good conversation, she has a passion for interviewing everyone from A-list celebrities to the local GP - or just about anyone who will chat to her, really.

Emma holds an MA in International Journalism from City, University of London, and a BA in English Literature from Trinity College Dublin.