How a "Moment of Madness" Led to Queen Elizabeth Becoming a Wedding Crasher

Queen Elizabeth II was known to have a brilliant sense of humor. Whether she was pranking American tourists in Balmoral or allegedly impersonating Melania Trump, the Queen's wit was well documented. It also appears that the late monarch carried out some amazing surprises, such as turning up at a stranger's wedding at the last minute.

As reported by the Daily Mail, Frances and John Canning sent a wedding invitation to Queen Elizabeth II in 2012, purely because they had one spare. It transpired that the Queen would be attending an official engagement nearby on the same day, so she planned to put in an appearance at the couple's nuptials.

"The late Queen and Duke of Edinburgh had been attending a lunch with 200 local volunteers in an adjacent room, and the Queen had asked if she could pop in to congratulate the bride and groom," the Daily Mail explained. "The Queen and the Duke then spent about five minutes talking to the newlyweds, Frances and John Canning, and even agreed to pose for a few photographs."

Understandably, the Cannings were elated when the royals actually turned up on their big day. "It was bizarre that she knew our names," Frances told the outlet.

Reflecting on Queen Elizabeth's presence at their wedding, John told the publication, "She commented on how beautiful Frances looked in her dress and wished us all the best for the future." As for Prince Philip, John called him a "lovely man," explaining, "He even asked where in Italy we were going on our honeymoon."

As for how the unexpected moment happened, the Daily Mail reported that the Cannings discovered "they would be sharing the venue with a V.I.P." on their wedding day. After finding out the Queen herself would be in the building, they "jokingly wrote to Buckingham Palace to invite them to the celebration, but had received a reply politely declining the offer."

Luckily, the Queen's team had other plans and decided to "arrange the surprise." Bride Frances explained, "When we had our ceremony, the staff asked us to wait for a moment in the corridor and just a few minutes later the Queen arrived." Frances continued, "She knew both our names and apparently we had been especially added to her rota."

If it wasn't already obvious, Queen Elizabeth was full of surprises.