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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Entertainment
Escher Walcott

Daniel Craig recalls moment ‘very funny’ Queen cracked a joke at his expense

Daniel Craig shared a moment “very funny” Queen Elizabeth II made a joke at his expense.

The Queen died aged 96 at Balmoral, Scotland, on Thursday September 8, having served as Britain’s longest-reigning monarch.

Prior to the news of the Queen’s death, Craig, 54, gave a charming anecdote of his interaction with the monarch when the pair took part in the hilarious 2012 Olympics skit together.

Craig gave his amusing account of the Queen as he appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on Wednesday.

Craig and the late Queen starred in a hilarious 2012 skit for the London Olympics (AFP/Getty Images)

When asked by host Stephen Colbert “What’s she like in private?”, Craig replied: “Very funny. Very funny,” as he remembered his time with the Queen.

“[She] wants to crack a joke, and [she] cracked a joke about me,” Craig revealed.

“We were having our photographs taken and she just went, ‘Oh no, he’s the one that doesn’t smile. Fair enough!’”

The former James Bond actor also shared what the Queen’s favoured corgis were like, as he said: “I was rolling around on the floor with them most of the time. I think they have their own footmen, they’re very friendly.”

Her Majesty and Craig appeared in their skit together for the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympics a decade ago.

Craig has joined several celebrities who have given tribute to the Queen after her death (PA Wire)

The clip was directed by Danny Boyle and saw the pair meet each other at Buckingham Palace as the Queen said: “Evening, Mr Bond.”

It ended with the monarch appearing to jump out of a helicopter with the Union Flag.

Craig described the Queen as “fun” as he discussed their filmed scenes, saying: “It wasn’t supposed to be funny. It was supposed to be serious.

“She was fun, incredibly game. We had a short space of time and I was a bit grumpy as it was my day off and suddenly, I am at the Palace with the Queen at her private chamber.

“And she improvises a little bit. She was supposed to be sitting at the desk and she asked if she could write, so she pretended to write.”

Following his story about the Queen, Craig gave a sweet tribute to the late monarch in a statement as he said she would be “profoundly missed”.

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