It is probably not the best cameo in TV or movie history, but one that features the most famous monarch in the world - Queen Elizabeth II. The Queen’s aide has recently revealed that the royal insisted on saying the classic line “Good evening, Mr Bond" when she was offered to appear in the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics along with the start of the Bond saga, played by Daniel Craig.
The footage itself shows Queen Elizabeth being visited by 007, who then accompanies the monarch to a helicopter that takes the two to the London Stadium. In the following scene, Bond and the monarch, played by stuntman Gary Connery, parachute into the stadium.
In her memoir, serialised by Hello magazine, Angela Kelly describes how filmmaker Danny Boyle voiced his idea about the skit during his meeting with Kelly and the Queen’s secretary Edward Young. “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”.
But not only did the Queen immediately agree to participate in the ceremony, she insisted on a speaking part. “Of course I must say something. After all, he is coming to rescue me”, the Queen said, according to the aide. Kelly, who has worked for the royal household as dressmaker and personal assistant for 25 years, then details how she had to create two identical peach outfits, one for Elizabeth II and the other for a stuntman, who portrayed her.
Social media users were delighted to know that the Queen was so enthusiastic, with some saying that the best part in the ceremony, which featured performances of Paul McCartney, Muse, and Monty Python’s Eric Idle, was the James Bond skit with the Queen.
Oh yes!! She was such a gem to agree to do that. A 'never to be foregoten' moment.
— Nesta (@Scraggs60) July 27, 2019
That was my very favorite thing about the Opening-but the whole Presentation was just splendid!
— Nrsting (@Nrsting) August 17, 2019
It seems that the news also ended the decades-old debate over who is the best Bond girl.
Angela Kelly is the first serving member of the royal household who has been allowed to reveal details of her working relationship with the Queen. In her book titled “The Other Side of the Coin: the Queen, the Dresser and the Wardrobe”, among other things, she details how the christening gown worn by Prince George, Prince Louis, and Princess Charlotte were dyed in Yorkshire tea to replicate the dress worn by Queen Victoria’s eldest sister in 1841. Kelly said the tea brand was chosen as it was the strongest.
