Man Recalls 'Amazing' Time He Helped Out Queen Elizabeth II With Roadside Crisis

Sep 14, 2022 by apost team

Queen Elizabeth II was the reigning monarch of England for an incredible 70 years, but sadly her time came to an end when she passed away on Sept. 8, 2022. She passed away while at her home in Balmoral after Buckingham Palace had earlier announced that she was under medical attention. It was a devastating day for the royal family as many members gathered to be by her side in her final moments. 

Despite making it to an incredible 96 years of age, the queen proved there was no slowing her down. 2022 was a big year for her after she celebrated 70 years as Queen of the United Kingdom and 15 Commonwealth realms in February. This was not only a milestone for her but for the entire world, as she was the first British ruling monarch to reach the seven-decade mark. In fact, she made further history when she became the second longest-serving monarch ever. She's only bested by one other ruler, Louis XIV of France. 

She has a whole host of titles to her name. These include the longest-reigning and longest-lived British monarch, the longest-serving female head of state in history, and the world's longest-reigning current monarch, the oldest living monarch, and the longest-serving and oldest current head of state.

Surprisingly, those aren't the only titles the queen has held. While Prince Philip was still alive, he and the queen made history. They were actually the longest-married couple in the British monarchy! What's more, Philip was the world's longest-serving consort to a monarch.

In a tweet posted on Sept. 9, 2022, Thom Goddard recalled how back in 1994, he got the incredible opportunity to help out the queen in a time of need. Read on to learn more about Goddard's encounter with Queen Elizabeth II before she passed.

Queen Elizabeth II's life has continued to fascinate people, including her early life before she ever took over the throne, despite the fact that she wasn't always destined to become the ruling monarch. And while the queen has shown that she is more than capable of holding such a powerful, regal and elegant position, she has also shown off her wonderful personality and cheeky mannerisms over the years. This was especially seen while the queen was surrounded by a group of foreign tourists who somehow didn't even recognize her!

The queen's former protection officer, Richard Griffin, has worked closely with the monarch for more than 30 years. He spoke to The Times and revealed that the clueless American tourists asked Her Royal Highness if she lived in the area, to which she replied that she had a house nearby, as per The Mirror.

Griffin said the encounter then became awkward as the visitors asked the monarch if she had ever met the queen. Griffin said she replied: "No, but this policeman has," and gestured toward him. The former officer said the group then moved along without any idea who they had just met.

And this wasn't by far the only time that a member of the public ran into Her Royal Highness. Since the queen's passing, stories of people's encounters with the monarch have flooded social media feeds, with people sharing stories of bumping into the monarch, sometimes in the most unlikely of places or at the oddest times. One man regaled the story of the time he found a standard motorist with a familiar face. 

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Thom Goddard, who is an author according to his Twitter bio, recalled how one spring day years ago, he had a chance encounter with Her Royal Highness.

In a September 2022 tweet, he wrote about how "in Easter of 1994, my parents and I were walking at Holkham, Norfolk." The area is on the eastern shore of England and nowhere near London and Buckingham Palace, where you might expect to spy a member of the royal family. 

Goddard continued, explaining how they then "saw a Range Rover with horsebox stuck in the mud." The family piled out of the car, and "walking over to help, we saw it was #TheQueen, alone, behind the wheel." Elizabeth II was well known for not only driving well into her old age but also seeming to have a preference for the British-made Land Rover. She was often photographed driving, an activity most monarchs would probably see as too commonplace to undertake.

Driving alone, Elizabeth was clearly stuck. Goddard recalled how "she rolled down the window, shook her car phone and said: 'I have no connection. Can one give one a push?'" Eager to help, Goddard wrote:

"So we did. And she got out of the mud. And then she drove off without saying thank you!"

In his tweet, Goddard also explained that since he had met the queen on several occasions. He wrote, "I met the Queen 4 times with work and it was always a 5 second "Hello your majesty" - smile and nod from her." How lucky! 

Did you ever have a chance encounter with the queen or another royal? Let us know — and be sure to pass this article on to friends, family, and any fellow Royalists!