Inside Queen Elizabeth and David Attenborough’s decades-long friendship

It’s safe to say that the Queen and David Attenborough are both national treasures and it turns out that the pair have been friends for decades.

Born just weeks apart in 1926, David first met royalty in 1985 while he was working at the BBC.

As part of a tour of the BBC, the beloved nature presenter met Charles and Anne when they were just children, introducing them to his three year old cockatoo, Cocky.

Before making his name as a wildlife expert, the 95 year old worked as a BBC controller, meaning that he had oversight over what was aired and what was not.

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In 1969, the monarchy became a source of tension for David as the royals filmed their documentary ‘The Royal Family’ for the channel.

Despite Prince Philip agreeing to open the doors of Buckingham Palace and despite the documentary being a landmark show for the channel, David was extremely upset about the idea of showing the footage.

In fact, according to royal expert Ingrid Seward in her book The Queen and Di: The Untold Story, the anthropologist was worried about the decisions being made by the royals.

She claimed that Sir David said: “You’re killing the monarchy, you know, with this film you’re making.”

He added: “The whole institution depends on ­mystique and the tribal chief in his hut.

“If any member of the tribe ever sees inside the hut, then the whole system of the tribal chiefdom is damaged and the tribe eventually disintegrates.”

Despite his fears, the monarchy survived this groundbreaking event and David maintained his good relations with the Queen, being knighted for his services to television in 1985.

During his time as a controller at the BBC, the environmentalist also worked closely with the Queen to produce her Christmas addresses between 1986 and 1991.

On one tricky occasion, David swapped an acid green garment that Her Majesty picked out for a beige option – much to her displeasure.

Proving that it had been taken with a pinch of salt, three decades after being knighted, the Queen awarded David with an Order of Merit.

Though it’s clear that the pair have great respect for one another, their relationship isn’t entirely professional.

On multiple occasions, such as in 2015 at the launch of the Queen’s Commonwealth Canopy, the duo have been spotted laughing in each other’s canopy.

Complimenting Her Majesty, during a speech to mark the event, Sir David said: “We are fortunate that you are still thinking about the future and how to make this a better world.”

And during the 2017 documentary the Queen’s Green Planet, they had to pause their walk through the gardens of Buckingham Palace so they could enjoy a chuckle.

Coming across a sad looking plant, the monarch remarked that it “does not seem to be doing very well” for David to joke that “somebody sat on it I think at a garden party.”

Though the 95 year old Queen scaled back some of her engagements last year, her friendship with David showed no signs of slowing down as he joined forces with her grandson Prince William on the series ‘The Eartshot Prize: Repairing Our Planet’.

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