The start of 2017 has been rough for Queen Elizabeth II. First she was in bad health over the holidays and then almost got shot by one of the royal guards.

According to The Times, The Queen likes to take late night stroll within the grounds of the Buckingham Palace whenever she struggles to fall asleep. One night a guard while he was on his patrolling duty noticed a figure in the darkness.

The guard thought it's an intruder, shouted, "Who's that?" Little did he know the shadow belonged to none other than The Queen herself. She was on an about a quick walk at 3am in the morning.

When the guard realized who it is, he exclaimed, "Bloody hell, Your Majesty, I nearly shot you." He quickly stopped himself from saying anything more since that's not the proper way to speak to The Queen.

But Her Majesty was all calm and collected and replied, "That's quite all right. Next time I'll ring through beforehand so you don't have to shoot me."

Well that's pretty brave and generous of her. Realizing that the royal guard is only doing his duty she took the whole incident like a champ and continued with her walk.

According to Mail Online, after suffering from heavy cold and advised to take a bed rest over Christmas and New Year, the Queen recently performed her first royal duty.

She presented a member of her staff, Ray Wheaton, with the honor of a Lieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order for his duties and services to the Royal Family and household.

As the Monarch was ill for some time, the speculation quickly spread that she might step down from her throne due to old age and poor health.

Along with this a debate also started among the royal fans as who will be the next king. Many stated that according to the law of line of succession its Prince Charles's turn to wear the crown, but others stated that Prince Charles should step aside for his older son Prince William since he is more popular and favorite amid the people.

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