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Archive footage showing Queen Elizabeth II's interactions with a young Prince William and several other royal grandchildren has gone viral on social media, after resurfacing on video-sharing platform TikTok.
At the time of her death in September 2022, Elizabeth had eight grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren. The monarch would regularly see her extended family members during summer vacations at her Scottish home of Balmoral Castle.
Uploaded to TikTok by @royaltyfamily99 on Wednesday, footage captured during the queen's Scottish summer vacation with her grandchildren in 1992 has been viewed over 390,000 times and received almost 23,000 likes and numerous comments.
The queen's interactions with Prince William, and the daughters of Prince Andrew (Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie) formed part of a BBC documentary Elizabeth R, marking the queen's 40th year on the throne.
The special film followed the monarch through a year of her official duties. It was also permitted to capture some off-duty moments as the royal spent time with her family.
Captioned "Queen Elizabeth II rides a horse with her grandchildren," the TikTok clip shows the monarch as she helps Princess Beatrice mount a small miniature pony called Smokey at the Balmoral stables.
At one point, Elizabeth is heard asking William which way he would like to walk, and when he responds "that way," the monarch says: "Is that more fun?"
William is then shown walking the pony on a lead rein beside his grandmother, while Prince Harry and Zara Tindall (Princess Anne's daughter) ride on ahead with a groom.
A number of commenters on the video have praised the clip and the late queen, whose affection for her grandchildren was noted after her death last year.
"This is my favourite footage of the queen and her grandchildren," wrote one TikTok user.
"She reminds me of my grandma," posted another. "Sweet, proper and timeless, loving simple things horses, walks and grandchildren."
Elizabeth's love for Balmoral Castle and her Scottish estate was well known. It was widely commented on when she became the first monarch to die there after the property was built by Prince Albert and Queen Victoria in 1852.
A number of the key events in Elizabeth's reign passed while she was in residence at the castle. Perhaps the most impactful of these was the death of Princess Diana in the summer of 1997.
The monarch was staying at Balmoral with a number of her grandchildren, including Princes William and Harry, when news of Diana's car crash in Paris, France, reached Britain on August 31, 1997. After five days with her family at the castle, the queen bowed to public calls for her to return to London to mourn the late princess publicly.
Prince William spoke of his grandmother's closeness to him during the "saddest days" of his life in a special tribute message he paid to her in the days after her death.
"So much will be said in the days ahead about the meaning of her historic reign," William said in a statement issued from Kensington Palace, London, two days after the queen's death on September 8.
"I, however, have lost a grandmother," the prince added. "And while I will grieve her loss, I also feel incredibly grateful. I have had the benefit of The Queen's wisdom and reassurance into my fifth decade.
"My wife has had 20 years of her guidance and support. My three children have got to spend holidays with her and create memories that will last their whole lives," William said.
"She was by my side at my happiest moments," he added. "And she was by my side during the saddest days of my life.
"I knew this day would come, but it will be some time before the reality of life without Granny will truly feel real," he said.
In the days before the monarch's state funeral, Elizabeth's grandchildren came together to pay a special joint tribute. The eight royals stood in a guard of honour around her coffin at Westminster Hall, London, as members of the public filed past to pay their respects during the lying-in-state period.
Prince William and Prince Harry were joined for the moving gesture by Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie; Peter Phillips and Zara Tindall; and Lady Louise Windsor and James, Viscount Severn (now Earl of Wessex).
James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek's royal reporter based in London. You can find him on Twitter at @jrcrawfordsmith and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.
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About the writer
James Crawford-Smith is a Newsweek Royal Reporter, based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on the British royal family ... Read more