It was a swarm of bees, not a prank played by Prince Philip, that made Queen Elizabeth laugh at a 2003 photo, contrary to allegations that social media users shared a photo after the death of Prince Philip on 9 April.
Pictured is the Duke of Edinburgh dressed in a bear hat and red tunic, resembling the outfit worn by Buckingham Palace guards, with Queen Elizabeth standing beside him, smiling broadly.
The reports (here, here) claim that Philip dressed up as a palace guard to joke his wife, with captions, including: ‘My favorite photo of the Queen and Prince Philip. He one day dressed in full uniform as a palace guard while she was on her way for an engagement, and caught her unawares. She giggled, ‘(here) and:’ The time he dressed up as a palace guard to mess with her! ‘(here).
The original image, visible here, was taken by PA photographer Chris Young in April 2003 at Windsor Castle. The caption on the image states that the queen laughs at a swarm of bees: ‘Her majesty The queen and Prince Philip enjoy the spectacle as a swarm of bees raises concerns before The Queens Company Review in Windsor Castle. A beekeeper removed the swarm that had gathered on one of the dignitaries’ chairs before the ceremony. ”
Young told the BBC that when he saw the swarm of bees, the queen giggled like a little girl, and Philip laughed too (here).
More PA photos of the bee swarm and the queen during the event can be seen here, here, here and here.
The event was an overview of the elite Queen’s Company of The Grenadier Guards. The Grenadier Guards are one of the oldest infantry regiments in the British Army, known for guarding the royal palaces in their scarlet robes and bear skins (here).
Philip wore the scarlet tunic and a bear hat because he was the colonel of the Grenadier Guards at the time, a position he held from 1975 to 2017 (here). Philip wore this ceremonial dress on many occasions, as seen on Reuters’ photos here, here, here and here.
The Duke of Edinburgh, the husband of the 73-year-old queen, died on 9 April (here) on 99 April in Windsor Castle.
He was known for his sense of humor (here, here, here, here), which sometimes involved making critical, non-cuff remarks, some of which were considered racist and sexist (here).
VERDICT
Missing context. The caption on the original photo shows Queen Elizabeth laughing at a swarm of bees. Prince Philip wears a ceremonial dress as the Colonel of the Grenadier Guards.
This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team. Read more about our fact-checking work here.