Prince William and Prince Harry taught the Queen Mother to impersonate Ali G

(Image credit: Moviestore Collection Ltd/Alamy Stock Photo and Georges De Keerle/Getty Images/Future)

published 21 January 2023

In his memoir Spare, Prince Harry revealed that he once taught his great-grandmother, the Queen Mother, how to do an Ali G impression, saying she had an "amazing flick of the wrist".

Speaking about a time when he felt like 'part of the family,' Prince Harry recounted in his memoir how he taught the Queen Mother to do an Ali G impression.
Prince William has previously spoken about the impression, saying he and Prince Harry showed her how to perfect her impersonation of the fictional character created and performed by comedian Sacha Baron Cohen.
In other royal news, The Queen's confusingly sassy reply when Harry asked her if he could marry Meghan revealed.

Since the release of his explosive memoir, Spare, it has become increasingly apparent that Prince Harry was struggling with his position in the royal family far before he met Meghan Markle. The stories of his childhood and teenage years are heart-wrenching for many, but one unlikely moment recounted in the book shares at least one time when he felt like 'part of the family.'

In one of his more light hearted stories, Prince Harry detailed the time he taught his great-grandmother, the Queen Mother, how to do an Ali G impression. Ali G is satirical, fictional character created and performed by the comedian Sacha Baron Cohen. The character was a “hip-hop journalist” who, although appearing uneducated and oblivious to the real world, interviewed real life politicians and celebrities to reveal their prejudices and ignorances.

Prince William, Prince Harry and the Queen Mother

Speaking about teaching his great-grandmother how to nail the impression, Prince Harry said, "She had this amazing flick of the wrist. And I will never forget that barbecue night. It was wonderful, I felt like I was part of the family.

"I felt very different to what I felt before that. I felt slightly isolated. I felt slightly different. I dunno what was going on. And maybe that was, again, the sort of the suppression of the trauma and the grief but I had a proper laugh with my… with my Gan-Gan then."

Prince William has previously spoken about the spot on impression, revealing the light-hearted story after the Queen Mother’s death in 2002. In an interview with the Telegraph, he said, "It was two or three Christmases ago and we were sitting down watching Ali G on television.

"We were laughing when she came in. She couldn't understand what was going on, so we explained. She saw Ali G click his fingers and say 'respec', and Harry and I showed her what to do. She loved it, and after three goes she had it."

Prince Harry was notorious for pulling similar pranks on his royal relatives. A particularly funny prank including the late Queen's mobile phone was previously detailed in a royal book.

In a hilarious story revealed by author Bryan Kozlowski in his book 'Long Live the Queen! 13 Rules for Living from Britain's Longest Reigning Monarch,' it was revealed that Prince Harry recorded a jokey voicemail message on the Queen's personal ‘anti-hacker encrypted’ phone.

According to the author, the message went, "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'."

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Charlie Elizabeth Culverhouse is a news writer for Goodtoknow, specialising in family content. She began her freelance journalism career after graduating from Nottingham Trent University with an MA in Magazine Journalism, receiving an NCTJ diploma, and earning a First Class BA (Hons) in Journalism at the British and Irish Modern Music Institute. She has also worked with BBC Good Food and The Independent.