Queen Elizabeth II and royal family news junkies (so, all of us), this one’s for you: News has broke that Queen Elizabeth II was reported to the police for failing to wear her seatbelt.
And one resident with oh-so-sharp vision was not okay with that. The individual decided to take matters into their own hands (the gender of the keen eyes has not been revealed) and dialed 999 to report it on the emergency line. Received by the contact center in West Yorkshire, the resident noted Her Royal Highness’ traffic violation on her way to deliver a speech on the State Opening of Parliament.
“I cannot stress enough that the 999 number is for emergencies only,” said Tom Donohoe of West Yorkshire Police, emphasizing the importance of reserving the number only for dire circumstances. Police also remarked that the event was not even in Yorkshire, but at the Palace of Westminster in London.
Clearly dismayed, the customer contact center tweeted the following, with tongue-in-cheek hashtags including “#not999” and “#notevenwestyorkshire.
999 call received reporting that the Queen isn’t wearing a seatbelt. #not999 #notevenwestyorkshire
— WYP Contact Centre (@WYP_CCC) June 21, 2017
“This is just a sample of inappropriate calls received by our operators this year. Callers who do not have an emergency may prevent others who require our immediate assistance from getting through to us,” said Chief Superintendent Pippa Mills, whose Twitter bio lists her as “Lead for Operational Policing, Criminal Justice and Force Control Room” in Essex. She continues by adding that this creates a veritable risk to their ability to handle real emergencies.
While the queen is immune from civil or criminal proceedings, not wearing a seatbelt is against the law in the United Kingdom and offenders can face a fine of up to £500. Needless to say, royal family or not, always buckle up.
