Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip visited the Solomon Island in 1982. The islands are a Pacific archipelago of 900 islands east of Papua New Guinea. The Solomon Islands receive just 2,000 visitors every year and consequently, the Royals received an “exuberant welcome” when they went to the archipelago, according to author Robert Hardman in his 2018 book Queen of the World. It was during her arrival at the islands that Queen Elizabeth made her surprising joke. Hardman called the monarch’s entrance “one of the most memorable arrivals in royal history.”
He wrote: “[The Queen and Prince Philip] were ferried ashore in a pair of war canoes which were then lifted out of the water and carried up the ‘main street’ with the Queen and Duke still aboard.
“It was, perhaps, the only time the monarch has been held aloft by one of her own Cabinet ministers, in the form of Henry Naisali, Tuvalu’s Finance Minister.
“Dressed in a ceremonial grass skirt, he was among those carrying the Queen’s canoe.”
It was the locals choice of dress provoked the Monarch’s joke.
According to Hardman, “she hoked that it was the first time she had seen a haystack wearing dark glasses.”
This was far from the only time the Queen was heard making a quip – and on one occasion her joke came after a rather shocking incident.
It occurred during a visit to New Zealand in 1986 when locals were protesting Britain’s 146-year-old treaty with New Zealand’s Maori tribes.
According to Hardman: “If there was anything to worry about, it was the situation in New Zealand, where the monarch was increasingly seen as fair game for the more extreme elements of the Maori protest movement.”
The visit to New Zealand lasted nine days, and for the Queen’s first public appearance she rode in an open car alongside the Duke of Edinburgh.
Two women who were dressed as crowd wardens at the parade proceeded to hurl eggs at the Queen as part of the protest.
“One egg hit the queen’s coat, and egg yolk trickled down her pink dress. Another egg splattered the car’s windshield,” reported the Associated Press in 1986.
Hardman said the Queen was “alarmed” by the incident – although she quickly recovered her composure – while New Zealand Prime Minister David Lange called the incident “deplorable.”
While the egg-pelting was no doubt shocking for both the Queen and Prince Philip, the monarch managed to see the funny side of the episode.
She later made a joke that she preferred New Zealand eggs ‘or breakfast,’” wrote Hardman in his book.
One royal visit saw an attack on the Queen that was certainly no laughing matter, however.
Teenager Christopher Lewis shot at Elizabeth as exited her vehicle on the way to a science fair in Dunedin, New Zealand on 14 October.