Prince Philip used this hilarious line to make the Queen smile

(Image credit: Max Mumby/Indigo)

It's no secret Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth had a wonderful relationship, ever since their first meeting. They were together for decades before he sadly passed away last year, and they especially shared a special sense of humour, one which helped the Queen smile when she needed to appear on TV.

As she was young when she ascended the throne, at a time when her TV appearances weren't as regular as they are now, Her Majesty was very shy, and not prone to smile when making speeches on camera. In fact, in the early days, she was criticised for seeming nervous and cold.

So Prince Philip devised a trick to make her relax. According to MyLondon, he once passed her a note which said: 'Remember the gnashing and wailing of teeth', which was a bit of an inside joke, referring to the time he chased her through the palace with a set of false teeth.

This obviously worked, and over the years, the monarch became much warmer and more relaxed on camera, and her appearances are something the public always looks forward to.

That said, there are still rumours that Queen Elizabeth's team uses tricks so she remembers to smile on camera. Apparently, 'when the Queen is recording her Christmas broadcast, the producer puts surprise silly pictures at strategic points to ensure that she smiles.'

Of course, these claims haven't been confirmed, but we do know HRH has a good sense of humour, so we'd like to think this all actually happens.

Penny Goldstone

Penny Goldstone is the Digital Fashion Editor at Marie Claire, covering everything from catwalk trends to royal fashion and the latest high street and Instagram must-haves.

Penny grew up in France and studied languages and law at the Sorbonne Nouvelle University in Paris before moving to the UK for her MA in multimedia journalism at Bournemouth University. She moved to the UK permanently and has never looked back (though she does go back regularly to stock up on cheese and wine).

Although she's always loved fashion - she used to create scrapbooks of her favourite trends and looks, including Sienna Miller and Kate Moss' boho phase - her first job was at MoneySavingExpert.com, sourcing the best deals for everything from restaurants to designer sales.

However she quit after two years to follow her true passion, fashion journalism, and after many years of internships and freelance stints at magazines including Red, Cosmopolitan, Stylist and Good Housekeeping, landed her dream job as the Digital Fashion Editor at Marie Claire UK.

Her favourite part of the job is discovering new brands and meeting designers, and travelling the world to attend events and fashion shows. Seeing her first Chanel runway IRL at Paris Fashion Week was a true pinch-me moment.