A Liverpool writer has revealed how the Queen ended up starring in the now iconic James Bond sketch.
As part of the opening ceremony for the London Olympics in 2012, Queen Elizabeth appeared alongside Daniel Craig, from Wirral, in a sketch set inside Buckingham Palace. As the two iconic British figures meet, Craig’s Bond waits patiently by the monarch's side, before giving a subtle cough to get her attention.
Her Majesty then turns to greet him with the classic 007 phrase: “Good evening, Mr Bond.” Screenwriter Frank Cottrell-Boyce, from Rainhill, is one of the brains behind the sketch and describes it as one of the "defining" moments of the Queen's 70-year reign.
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Writing in The Guardian, Cottrell-Boyce said: "There was no intention for her to appear (in the sketch). The producer Tracey Seaward went to what she thought would be a routine meeting at the palace to ask what the Queen would be wearing so that our actress could dress like her.
"It was the Queen’s dresser, Angela Kelly, who said: 'Oh, she wants to be in it.' She put herself up for that moment. It’s a moment that was meant to amuse people for one night only.
"If she hadn’t been in it herself that is all it would have been. But the way director Danny Boyle timed that turn of the head – that great reveal, “my God, it’s really her” – means that 10 years on, it’s one of her defining moments."
The 62-year-old was also on the writing team for the more recent Paddington Bear sketch, comissioned for the Queen's Platinum Jubilee. The sweet scene features the monarch and Paddington bonding over a love of marmalade sandwiches before the bear sincerely thanks her for her 70 years of service.
Cottrell-Boyce said: "It’s easy to see why that was so powerful. In retrospect, it was valedictory. A woman waving a happy goodbye to her grandchildren and great grandchildren, an image of love and a happy death."
He added: "The most emotional moment in that encounter with Paddington is when the bear says: “Thank you, Ma’am. For everything.” People will ask: “What everything?” Well, make your own list.
"But I’m thankful for the way she used the peculiar power of her archaic role to allow us to glimpse, however fleetingly, that we share something good and that we need to defend that."
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