Queen Elizabeth’s most memorable TV moments: from 2012 Olympics to tea with Paddington Bear at Buckingham Palace

Queen Elizabeth sadly passed away at Balmoral Castle on 8 September 2022.

Regular television programming was interrupted to deliver the heartbreaking news and the UK was plunged into a 10-day period of mourning.

The Queen, 96, featured on television several times throughout her 70-year-reign as part of her role as Head of State and as the monarch.

However, some of the Royal’s cameo appearances are more memorable than others - especially in the last decade.

2012 - London Olympics entrance

To commemorate the glorious return of the Olympics in London for the first time in 64 years, the Queen featured in arguably one of the most iconic television appearances of her reign.

During the Opening Ceremony, a TV audience of around 900 million saw James Bond arrive at Buckingham Palace before chaperoning Her Majesty to a helicopter.

It appeared that Queen Elizabeth proceeded to jump out of the helicopter wearing a pink dress suit, and parachute down to the stadium with 007 in pursuit, before being introduced to the Royal box.

2015 - Justin Trudeau Toast

Queen Elizabeth was known for her poise, her dedication and her kindness but was also recognised for her sense of humour - seen in some TV appearances.

For example, when Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau toasted the Queen on her 60th year of reign in 2015 and thanked her for her “long and tireless service,” Her Majesty was quick to respond.

The monarch replied: “Thank you Mr Prime Minister of Canada, for making me feel so old.”

2016 - Joyful Queen seeing cows at 90th birthday

The Queen celebrates two birthdays a year, with her actual birthday taking place in April and an official day in June.

The tradition has been in place since 1748, and for the Queen’s 90th birthday in 2016, a remarkable parade was held in her honour.

However, fans of the Royal Family will remember the celebration crucially for the Queen’s reaction to a herd of Jersey and Red Sussex cows entering the arena.

The Queen looked overjoyed and mouthed “cows” to her late partner Prince Philip, in a video that has been watched almost one million times on Youtube.

2016 - Prince Harry Production ahead of Invictus Games

Despite the complications between Prince Harry and the Royal Family after his marriage to Meghan Markle, the Duke of Sussex was believed to still have a close relationship with his Grandmother.

One instance that showed their love for each other was a cameo appearance in 2016 labelled as a “Prince Harry production”, where cameras were allowed into Windsor Castle to capture the Queen’s reaction to a message from Barack and Michelle Obama.

The former American President warned Harry about the upcoming Invictus Games before dropping the social media mic - to which the Queen comically replied “Boom really, please.”

2018 - David Attenborough documentary

Throughout the Queen’s 96 years of life, she also had a close friendship with Sir David Attenborough, who was born the same year.

While David regularly appears on television in his documentaries, the Queen featured on an ITV documentary called The Queen’s Green Planet in which the pair walked around the grounds of Buckingham Palace.

The flow of conversation and easy banter between the two showed their close relationship, with David offering a tribute after her passing this week.

He said: “If there was something funny, she laughed in a genuine way…she was an expert at getting people to relax.”

2022 - Paddington Bear Platinum Tea

The Queen has been seen with British icons such as David Attenborough in the past, and to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, audiences were gifted with a clip of Paddington Bear and the Queen having morning tea in Buckingham Palace.

The beloved bear was seen offering Her Majesty a marmalade sandwich from his red hat to which the Queen responded by pulling one out of her handbag.

Fans shared the scene on Twitter commenting that Paddington summed up our feelings as a nation in the best way - “Thank you for everything, ma’am.”