When Queen Elizabeth II appeared at the Olympics 2012 opening ceremony

By: Sports DeskUpdated: September 13, 2022 12:38:06 pm

During her lifetime Queen Elizabeth II, who passed away last Thursday at the age of 96, had a continued association with the world of sport.

Part of the charm of the 2012 London Olympics opening ceremony was the James Bond sketch written by Oscar winning director Danny Boyle. The Slumdog Millionaire director had included a part featuring a double of the queen alongside the then 007, Daniel Craig. A sequence that originated from the Buckingham Palace to the Olympic stadium.

And so when the producers wanted went to the palace to figure out what the queen wears for her double, they were left surprised by her dresser who said that the queen also wanted to be in the video.

Speaking to BBC Radio on Friday, Frank Cottrell-Boyce — who was the writer for the Olympic ceremony, narrated the entire incident.

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“The queen’s dresser asked, ‘Why are you doing all this?’ And we told her, ‘So we can make it look like the queen.’ So she said: ‘Oh, the queen wants to do it,’” he explained. “She put herself up for that, she wanted to be in the sketch.”

Cottrell-Boyce further added that it was the queen who insisted she have a speaking part, something they hadn’t previously written.

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“On the day we were filming, she said to Danny Boyle, ‘I think I should have a line,’ he recalled. “She bagged that. She didn’t have a line in the script.”

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And so it happened. As is shown in the video shared by the Olympics YouTube channel with over 60 million views, when Craig reaches the palace in a pre-shot scene ahead of the ceremony in London, the queen greets him, “Good evening, Mister Bond.”

This is followed by the duo leaving the palace, shown boarding a helicopter and parachuting their way to the opening ceremony venue with the 007 theme music in the background.

First published on: 13-09-2022 at 10:15:53 am Next Story

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