Queen Elizabeth Was "Cool About" This Embarrassing Moment

Prince William smiling next to Queen Elizabeth

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Although members of the Royal Family are highly familiar with etiquette and protocol, they're still human after all. Prince William once suffered an "embarrassing" moment when attending the annual Diplomatic Corps reception at Buckingham Palace—but luckily for the Prince of Wales, Queen Elizabeth actually loved it when things went wrong at royal events.

In 2016, a special documentary called Our Queen at Ninety was released by ITV in honor of Queen Elizabeth's 90th birthday. In the program, members of the Royal Family, including Prince William, shared their favorite memories of the late monarch.

The Prince of Wales—then known as the Duke of Cambridge—shared that when it comes to diplomacy as a royal, "You have to be careful what you say and who you say it to." When it came time for him to attend his first-ever Diplomatic Corps reception, which welcomes diplomatic representatives from across the world, it turns out William made an "awkward" mistake.

Prince William wearing a black uniform talking to a line of guests at a diplomatic reception — The Prince of Wales is pictured at the 2025 Diplomatic Corps reception at Windsor Castle.

Queen Elizabeth wearing a black dress and pearls sitting next to Prince William, who is pointing at something and smiling — Queen Elizabeth is pictured with Prince William at the 2015 Festival of Remembrance.

"My first diplomatic reception was a little bit awkward," Prince William said in the documentary. "I may have mentioned to two particular countries who don't get along, I got the wrong one…muddled up."

Although the mistake could've been a diplomatic disaster, fortunately Queen Elizabeth (and everyone involved) brushed off the incident.

"That was quite embarrassing, but my grandmother was pretty cool about it," William said. "She laughed about it and thought it was quite funny. Luckily, there wasn't any [fallout] but it was okay."

The late Queen's reaction is fitting after her former aide, Samantha Cohen, told Australian newspaper the Herald Sun that her former boss "loved it" when mishaps occurred.

"The Queen had no ego," Cohen said in 2024. "She was so comfortable in herself, yet she loved it when things went wrong. If a cake was not cutting, or a plaque didn’t unveil, because everything was so perfectly organized—it spiced her life up when things went wrong."

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Kristin Contino is Marie Claire's Senior Royal and Celebrity editor. She's been covering royalty since 2018—including major moments such as the Platinum Jubilee, Queen Elizabeth II’s death and King Charles III's coronation—and places a particular focus on the British Royal Family's style and what it means.

Prior to working at Marie Claire, she wrote about celebrity and royal fashion at Page Six Style and covered royalty from around the world as chief reporter at Royal Central. Kristin has provided expert commentary for outlets including the BBC, Sky News, US Weekly, the Today Show and many others.

Kristin is also the published author of two novels, “The Legacy of Us” and “A House Full of Windsor.” She's passionate about travel, history, horses, and learning everything she can about her favorite city in the world, London.