A Buckingham Palace guard 'nearly shot' the Queen by accident

Well, that could have been awkward.

Look, we all bugger up at work from time to time. It happens. We're only human. But imagine if your job was to guard Buckingham Palace (and thus the life of the Queen effectively) and you end up being the very soul who almost shoots her.

Awkward, right?

A former guard at Buckingham Palace has revealed he once 'nearly shot' the Queen when she was out for a late night stroll around the palace grounds.

According to The Times diary column, the former guard explained that he thought he had spotted an intruder after noticing someone walking across the grounds at 3am one night.

After shouting out: 'Who's that?' he was surprised to learn that said intruder was in actual fact the Queen herself, who reportedly had been unable to sleep.

Upon learning the intruders real identity the former guard reportedly said: 'Bloody hell, Your Majesty, I nearly shot you,' reports the newspaper.

Apparently, The Queen then replied: 'That's quite all right. Next time I'll ring through beforehand so you don't have to shoot me.'

Of course, we would expect no less of a response from Her Majesty, who has already proved on numerous occasions that Queen Liz really is cool AF.

The Queen allegedly enjoys going for a stroll late at night when she can't sleep, though given that doing so could be putting her life at risk we would recommend our tips and tricks for sleep disorders instead (you're welcome m'am).

Buckingham Palace have so far declined to comment on the story.