Queen 'slapped' Royal Family member 'across the face' says Elton John, who witnessed the 'bizarre' moment

The Queen 'slapped' a Royal Family member in front of music legend Elton John, according to an excerpt from his autobiography

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM - JUNE 04: Queen Elizabeth ll meets Sir Elton John during The Diamond Jubilee Concert in front of Buckingham Palace on June 4, 2012 in London, England.
(Image credit: Rota/ Anwar Hussein/Getty Images)

Elton John remembers the time the Queen 'slapped' a Royal Family member in jest, and the hilarious exchange they shared afterwards.


The Queen 'slapped' Royal Family member in front of Sir Elton John, who recounted the hilarious moment in his autobiography. The legendary singer revealed not only the slap, but the Queen's royal sense of humor that was behind it.

According to Elton's account of the first night, he met Princess Diana, in his official autobiography Me: Elton John ,the Queen has a wicked sense of humor, despite her somber appearance.

The star digressed from his meeting with the late Princess, to acknowledge that the rumors about the Queen being incredibly funny are absolutely true. "At another party, I saw her approach Viscount Linley and ask him to look in on his sister, who'd been taken ill and had retired to her room," he explained.

Queen Elizabeth II stands on the balcony at Buckingham Palace at the end of the Platinum Pageant on The Mall on June 5, 2022 in London, England. The Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II is being celebrated from June 2 to June 5, 2022, in the UK and Commonwealth to mark the 70th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II on 6 February 1952.

(Image credit: Mark Cuthbert/UK Press/Getty Images)

Elton continued, "When he repeatedly tried to fob her off, the Queen lightly slapped him across the face, saying 'Don't' — SLAP — 'argue' — SLAP — 'with' — SLAP — 'me' — SLAP — 'I' — SLAP — 'am' — SLAP — 'THE QUEEN!'"

The moment, which, "seemed to do the trick," was followed by even more gaiety when the Viscount left. "She saw me staring at her," he added, "gave me a wink and walked off."

David, Viscount Linley is the eldest child of the late Princess Margaret, Her Majesty's only sibling. Even though Princess Margaret’s brutal reaction to finding out Elizabeth would be Queen is well documented, the pair were incredibly close. So much so that, despite the previous controversy about their relationship, the Queen allowed Princess Margaret's lover to visit her tomb.

Aoife Hanna
Junior News Editor

Aoife is an Irish journalist and writer with a background in creative writing, comedy, and TV production.

Formerly woman&home's junior news editor and a contributing writer at Bustle, her words can be found in the Metro, Huffpost, Delicious, Imperica and EVOKE.

Her poetry features in the Queer Life, Queer Love anthology.

Outside of work you might bump into her at a garden center, charity shop, yoga studio, lifting heavy weights, or (most likely) supping/eating some sort of delicious drink/meal.