Public emotions aren’t really big with the Royal Family. Sure, we sometimes get tight smiles to express happiness and support. But for the most part, they keep the real depths of their emotions very close to the vest.
But nobody can keep their emotions hidden all of the time, especially when it comes to anger. And when they get angry enough, royals lose their cool just as easily as the rest of us.
Don’t think that’s true? Here is our definitive list of times the Royal Family got angry on camera.
Prince William goes off on Martin Bashir
Princess Diana’s interview with the BBC’s Martin Bashir in 1995 was a real bombshell. It involved her openly talking about affairs, her mental health, and her opinion of how bad Prince Charles would be if he were king.
In 2021, former British judge Lord Dyson led an inquiry that reveaqled Bashir and the BBC used “deceitful behavior” to secure the interview. In response, a barely-restrained Prince William recorded a statement about the damage that had been done to his family.
“In an era of fake news, public service broadcasting and a free press have never been more important,” he said. “These failings, identified by investigative journalists, not only let my mother down, and my family down; they let the public down too.”
RELATED: Why Prince William Really Hated Living With Prince Harry
Kate Middleton scolds Prince George at Pippa’s wedding
Nobody cares less about royal titles than little children. And that includes little children who are royals themselves!
Kate Middleton discovered this when her sister Pippa Middleton got married in 2017. Kate had her hands full minding her young children Princess Charlotte, then 2, and Prince George, then 4.
But like any other four-year-old, the young prince kept doing things like emptying his flower basket and playing behind Pippa’s wedding dress. Eventually, like any exasperated mother, Kate lost her cool and scolded George harshly enough to make the young royal cry.
Meghan Markle tells her critics how it is
Meghan Markle has had her fair share of critics. This includes everyone from fellow royals to various members of the press (especially British tabloids).
In this clip from Fortune’s Most Powerful Women Summit in 2020, Meghan tells the critics how it really is. She identifies how much of what people think is “inflammatory” is not what she said but “people’s interpretation of it.” She noted that “if you listen to what I actually have to say, it’s not controversial.”
RELATED: 8 Most Shocking Confessions From Meghan Markle
Fergie storms out of ’60 Minutes’ interview
Some of these angry moments caught on camera aren’t very well-known. However, Fergie’s disastrous interview with 60 Minutes in 2011 was a gaffe seen around the world.
During the interview, reporter Michael Usher confronts Fergie with footage of her offering to sell access to her ex-husband Prince Andrew (who was acting as a British trade envoy, and was recently linked to notorious sex offender Jeffrey Epstein) for a cool £500,000.
Fergie actually walks out of the interview, but the damage was done. Not only had the world seen how willing she was to sell her fellow royals out, but we had also seen how cheaply she was willing to do it!
The Queen gets mad… twice
It’s rare to see Queen Elizabeth get mad. And this is an example where she ultimately got mad twice over.
It all began when the BBC revealed footage of Elizabeth trying on different clothing and accessories for an upcoming photo shoot. The footage shows Elizabeth apparently storming out while saying “I’ve had enough dressing like this, thank you very much!”
However, this was actually footage of Elizabeth arriving for the photoshoot instead of storming off. The BBC misrepresented what happened and had to profusely apologize. And the public scrutiny over the event helped the public see what did make Elizabeth mad: an American photographer telling her to take off her “crown” (which was actually her tiara).
RELATED: This Conspiracy Theory About Queen Elizabeth Is Turning Heads
Prince Philip’s potty mouth
We have all known at least one older person that has gotten a bit impatient and salty over the years. And it turns out that this is something that happened to Prince Philip as well.
In 2015, Philip was at the RAF Club to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the start of the Battle of Britain. But he got annoyed with how long everything was taking, eventually blurting out “Just take the [expletive] picture!”
Prince William gets snippy with a cameraman
These days, Prince Harry is the one who is most likely to go off on a cameraman or otherwise get angry about the press. But as this clip shows, he may very well have learned it from his older brother!
In this 2014 footage, we see William and Harry both helping flood victims. When a cameraman asks William what he has been doing, a sardonic William tells him “Well, you could come and help” instead of simply filming. The interaction made the future King of England look very good as he focused more on helping people out than popping off a camera-friendly sound bite.
RELATED: The Biggest British Royal Family Scandals Of All Time
Princess Diana blends sarcasm and sadness
Remember when we said that Diana’s interview with Martin Bashir was a real bombshell? Well, it’s mostly because of moments like we see in this video clip!
Here, the interviewer asks, point-blank, if Camilla Parker-Bowles was a “factor” in the disintegration of her relationship with Prince Charles. “Well, there were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded” she replies. She puts on a sad smile, but beyond that, you can definitely see some of her simmering anger and resentment.
The fall of a prince
Poor Prince George can’t catch a break. Previously, we discussed Kate Middleton scolding him until he cried. And here, we see the Queen’s great-granddaughter Savannah Phillips send George flying down a hill!
The shocked George cries once more. Meanwhile, the rest of us can’t help but stare at the rich and powerful royals like Autumn Phillips getting flustered at their utter inability to control these rambunctious children.