As Netflix’s popular series ‘The Crown’ has caused tremendous interest in the royal family and the life of Queen Elizabeth II, one pressing question remains – does she play video games?
Queen Elizabeth II plays video games. Specifically, the monarch has expressed an interest in playing bowling on the Wii console.
Although it certainly would be a sight to see Queen Elizabeth II play Wii bowling, that’s not the only unusual interest she has. ‘The Crown’ may be a fascinating show, but sometimes reality is even better.
Wii Bowling and Banned Board Games
According to Wired, the Queen became interested in playing Wii after watching Prince William play – he had gotten the gaming console as a present from Kate Middleton.
This certainly would be a sight to behold, as Wired argued, “picturing Queen Elizabeth, the pinnacle of regal grace, flailing about with a Wiimote or cussing out William for getting a strike should almost definitely be the focus of Nintendo’s next ad campaign.” It should be, at the very least, a scene in ‘The Crown.’
Although she may enjoy bowling on the Wii, there’s one game Queen Elizabeth II certainly disapproves of, and it’s called Monopoly.
According to Prince Andrew, the royal family is banned from playing the real estate board game because “it gets too vicious.” Although they may be royalty, there’s nothing more ordinary and down-to-earth than a family Monopoly night getting out of hand.
HBO’s ‘Game of Thrones’
Monopoly might be too vicious for Queen Elizabeth II, but the violent and binge-worthy HBO show ‘Game of Thrones’ is not. According to Today, the Queen and Prince Phillip visited the show’s set in Ireland, where she chatted with showrunners and cast such as Dan Weiss and Kit Harrington.
There may be a concrete reason for Queen Elizabeth II’s love of the gory show, as its high-value production created thousands of jobs.
The visit did have one incredibly fascinating moment, as a real-life Queen stood in front of one of the most popular fictional thrones, the show’s Iron Throne, but declined to sit on it. Although there were already ample reasons not to sit on the pop-culture icon – she already has one at home, after all, and a throne made of swords doesn’t exactly seem comfortable – there was one that stood out from the rest.
There is an old tradition that bars the monarch from sitting on any foreign throne. Although this is mostly ceremonial, it seems like good practice, as the Queen wouldn’t want to become the ruler of Westeros accidentally.
Queen Elizabeth II may not have sat down on the Iron Throne, but her visit was still riveting. If you’re interested, you can watch the Associated Press video of her set visit here:
Fun Facts
Queen Elizabeth is a fan of the Wii, she doesn’t like Monopoly, and she narrowly avoided becoming the queen of Westeros – is there anything else you didn’t know about her? The truth is that the Queen is a fascinating person, and there are lots of fun facts about her.
Her love of corgis is commonly known, as she has owned over 30 corgis in her lifetime. However, many people might not know that Queen Elizabeth II even tried her hand at dog breeding, which resulted in the new royally favored dog breed, the ‘dorgi.’
‘Dorgis’ are a cross between a dachshund and a corgi.
In addition to owning many dogs, Queen Elizabeth II also owns an array of animals.
Due to a 12th century statute, the Queen owns all the swans in Britain. At the time, the birds were considered a royal delicacy, which is why people do not usually eat swan meat today.
Although the royals no longer dine on swans, she still technically owns all the swans. In addition to swans, she has also received several exotic animals as gifts, including elephants, kangaroos, and sloths.
Queen Elizabeth II does not traditionally keep these animals but donates them to the London Zoo instead, much to the cleaning staff’s appreciation at Buckingham Palace.
Queen Elizabeth II is the United Kingdom’s longest-reigning monarch, so it makes sense she’d acquire some interesting facts and quips about herself. However, what doesn’t make sense is that someone with so much power and influence would willingly choose to wake up to the world’s loudest alarm clock each morning.
Celebrities may be ‘just like us,’ but the royal family less so.