The Queen’s hilarious reaction to the Christmas Day crossbow intruder at Windsor Castle

The Queen's cheeky reaction to the Windsor Castle Christmas crossbow intruder was hilarious

Queen Elizabeth laughing while wearing a green hat and matching dress at the Out-Sourcing Inc. Royal Windsor Cup polo match and a carriage driving display by the British Driving Society at Guards Polo Club, Smith's Lawn on July 11, 2021 in Egham, England.
(Image credit: Getty Images/ Max Mumby/Indigo)

According to a new biography from royal expert Gyles Brandreth, the Queen had a very amusing reaction to the Crossbow-wielding intruder at Windsor Castle last year.


The late monarch proved time and time again that her sense of humor was unrivaled, even in the face of danger it seems, as a new biography claims she had a hilarious reaction to learning an armed intruder had broken onto the grounds of Windsor Castle.

In December 2021, it was reported that Police had apprehended a man, armed with a crossbow, who had gained access to the grounds of Windsor Castle. This scary incident did not seem to faze the Queen, however, who was actually staying at the castle at the time, after making it her main residence. In fact, according to royal biographer Gyles Brandreth, she made the funniest remark about the whole ordeal. 

The Queen laughing while wearing a red and blue headscarf at the Fell Class on day 3 of the Royal Windsor Horse Show in Home Park on May 15, 2015 in Windsor, England

(Image credit: Getty Images/ Max Mumby/Indigo)

In an extract from his new biography, ‘Elizabeth: An Intimate portrait’ published in the Daily Mail, the Queen said about the incident to a member of her team, "Yes, well, that would have put a dampener on Christmas, wouldn't it?”

Sharing even more insight into the Queen’s witty personality, Gyles said that her ‘wry, dry humorous way of looking at things’ was one of the many things that struck him about her. Before adding, “The fun of spending time with the Queen was both finding out how much fun she was and discovering unexpected things about her.”

The Queen was famous for her sense of humor, having once ‘shrieked with laughter’ after hearing a particularly rude joke that aides tried to prevent her from hearing. She was also known to be a lover of practical jokes, having played a number of pranks on her staff over the years.

Following her passing in September 2022, one of the many tributes came from Sir David Attenborough who also praised her wit and said the one thing he will remember most about her is her ‘most precious laugh.’

Naomi Jamieson
Lifestyle News Writer

Naomi is a Lifestyle News Writer with the Lifestyle team and has recently earned her Gold Standard Diploma in Journalism from the NCTJ. She has a background in design, having studied Illustration at Plymouth University but has taken a leap into the world of journalism after always having a passion for writing. She currently writes pieces on beauty, fashion, and entertainment for Goodto.com and My Imperfect Life.