Queen Elizabeth Latest Update: Royal Almost Shot By Buckingham Palace Guard

Queen Elizabeth’s health has been the subject of speculation for days as she battles a bad cold, but new media reports show her majesty has survived much worse. She was apparently nearly shot years ago as she walked around Buckingham Palace when one of her guards mistook the Queen for an intruder, according to media reports Wednesday.

The incident occurred during Elizabeth’s routine late-night walks throughout Buckingham Palace, The Times reported. The 90-year-old monarch usually takes night strolls when she has difficulties sleeping, according to the Huffington Post. But on this one particular night, as Elizabeth was walking the palace at 3 a.m., a former guardsman --- completely unaware of the circumstances --- reacted hastily, thinking the Queen was an intruder.

“Bloody hell, Your Majesty, I nearly shot you,” the guard is reported to have said once he realized who it was. “That’s quite all right,” came in Elizabeth’s response, according to The Times diary column.

She continued, “Next time I’ll ring through beforehand, so you don’t have to shoot me.”

The Times did not detail when the incident took place or what happened to the guard. Buckingham Palace did not comment on the report.

During the holidays, The Queen was struck with a cold that kept her from attending traditional church services on Christmas and New Year. The Queen, the world's longest serving monarch, has never been known to miss those traditional church services, especially in the last 28 years. Her absence had many people speculating who would be the next successor.

Elizabeth is said to be keeping herself occupied at her estate in Norfolk with red boxes of official papers. On Wednesday night, a Buckingham Palace spokeswoman said: "The Queen continues to recover."

The Queen is usually at Buckingham Palace from Monday through Friday. Her weekends are spent at Windsor Castle.