Charles' response to Queen Elizabeth II 'jumping out of helicopter' at the Olympics
The late Queen made history at the London Olympic Games in 2012
Queen Elizabeth II’s jaw-dropping cameo in the London 2012 Olympics opening ceremony was arguably the highlight of the event that year.
The late monarch starred alongside James Bond actor Daniel Craig who, whilst depicting his iconic character, dropped into Buckingham Palace met with Her Majesty. The unforgettable turns of events then unfolded…
What did the Queen do at the Olympics?
Many expected a body double portraying the queen, but Elizabeth herself fulfilled her role including her iconic line: “Good evening, Mr Bond.”
In the opening ceremony footage, the unlikely duo were seen soaring over London in a helicopter sporting the Union Jack before they reached the Olympic Park.
Meanwhile, in real time, an AgustaWestland AW139 appeared above spectators.
As the movie sequence unfolded and saw the Queen shockingly dive out of the helicopter, followed by Bond, the real helicopter also saw the same two figures leap out of the helicopter before parachuting down to earth. Of course, they were professionals and not the actual Queen and Daniel.
In the next moment, the spotlight shone on the Royal Box in real time, revealing the Queen in exactly the same dress she wore in the unbelievable footage.
Now, what could be more iconic than that? The sequence came as a surprise to most, but probably was most shocking to then-Prince Charles.
Consequently, we’re unpacking how Charles really reacted to his mother’s extraordinary display.
This is how director Danny Boyle made it all happen.
Why did Queen Elizabeth II do the Olympics stunt?
Initially, the director planned to have the introductory footage show the Queen travelling on the tube, but felt the process of actually getting the footage would be too much of a security issue.
Instead, he planned Daniel Craig’s role to be saving the Queen from a security threat that jeopardised her safe arrival at an undisclosed event.
“We wrote up this James Bond idea and we sent it into [Buckingham Palace],” Boyle told Jonathan Ross. “We were asking really for permission.
“For them to accept that it wouldn’t embarrass them and we would get a double – a good double. We were thinking Helen Mirren.
“They came back and said: ‘We are delighted for you to do it and Her Majesty would like to be in it herself. She would like to play herself.'”
The director was so stunned by the palace’s response that he even double checked to make sure it wasn’t an April Fools’ Day prank.
On the day of filming, Boyle revealed that the Queen had been at the dentists all morning and was unfortunately “not in a very good mood”.
“That put me in my place immediately,” he told Jonathan Ross.
According to royal author Tina Brown, the late Queen had her family in mind when she accepted the role.
“She thought it would be a great joke to amuse her grandchildren,” Brown penned in her book Palace Papers.
How did the royal family react?
Sebastian Coe, a long distance runner, watched the opening ceremony beside the then-Prince of Wales, Charles.
Prince William and Prince Harry were also seated just behind them.
Sebastian Coe explained: “None of them knew about the Queen’s involvement, nor that the film even existed.
“So when the sequence began, with the corgis racing up what were obviously very familiar stairs, Prince Charles looked at me and began laughing rather nervously, wondering where on earth this was going. And when the film cut to the shot of the royal back, he had exactly the same reaction as everyone else which was to assume it was the lady who does the impersonations.
“But the moment she turned around, and everyone realised, ‘My god! It really is the Queen!’ he began roaring with laughter. As for his sons, they were beside themselves. As she started her descent two voices shouted out in unison behind me, ‘Go, Granny!’ For me that was the nicest thing.”
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So, did you watch Queen Elizabeth II’s Olympics stunt at the time? What did you think? Let us know by leaving a comment on our Facebook page.
