Queen Elizabethhad just one stipulation when it came to appearing in a comedy sketch: a speaking part!
The monarch memorably teamed up with Daniel Craig (as James Bond!) and director Danny Boyle for a clip which aired during the opening ceremony for the 2012 Olympics in London, in which she made a cameo in a mini-movie in a parody of the famous British spy films. After Craig’s character picks up the Queen from Buckingham Palace, stunt actors playing them helicoptered across London and parachuted into the Olympics venue. To cheers,Queen Elizabeththen appeared on the steps of the VIP seats for her grand entrance.
Now Angela Kelly, the Queen’s trusted dresser and close confidant, is sharing how the iconic moment came to be in her new book,The Other Side of the Coin: The Queen, the Dresser and the Wardrobe.
2012 London Olympics/YouTube
Kelly was one of the first people to hear the pitch during a 2011 meeting with Boyle and Private Secretary Edward Young — and even presented the idea to the Queen directly.
“Having listened to Danny’s plan, I asked him and Edward to give me five minutes so that I could ask the Queen,” Kelly writes, as extracted inHello!magazine. “I remember the look of shock on Danny’s face that I would be asking Her Majesty straight away, but there’s no point in waiting around with these things: if she said no, that would be the end of it.”
“I asked then if she would like a speaking part,” Kelly recalled. “Without hesitation, Her Majesty replied: ‘Of course I must say something. After all, he is coming to rescue me.’ ”
She added, “I asked whether she would like to say: ‘Good evening, James,’ or: ‘Good evening, Mr. Bond,’ and she chose the latter, knowing the Bond films. Within minutes, I was back in Edward’s office delivering the good news to Danny — I think he almost fell off his chair when I said that the Queen’s only stipulation was that she could deliver that iconic line.”
Queen Elizabeth and Daniel Craig.Pool Photograph/Corbis/Getty
Tristan Fewings/BFC/Getty
In her previous bookDressing The Queen: The Jubilee Wardrobe, Kelly explained the lengths that staff went to in order to keep the monarch’s appearance a surprise.
“The Buckingham Palace dressmakers worked quietly for months, never having both dresses out of storage at the same time,” she said. “Even they didn’t know why two dresses were required for the same event.”
source: people.com
