The Queen’s Secret 007 Stunt
Even the royals didn’t know
The Queen wanted to surprise her family with her 007 appearance.
© imago images/i Images
The Queen’s appearance with Daniel Craig at the 2012 Olympics was top secret. Not even the royal family knew.
Queen Elizabeth II (95) allegedly kept her celebrated performance at the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympic Games in London top secret. Even her closest relatives knew nothing about it. The Queen made the condition for her appearance with James Bond star Daniel Craig (54) that it would be a surprise for the rest of the royal family, as has now been revealed. The then cabinet of David Cameron (55) was apparently not inaugurated.
On the tenth anniversary of the London Olympics has BBC Radio 4 according to the Daily Mail revealed some secrets in a “Reunion” show, including the Queen’s non-disclosure clause. Sam Hunter, who helped produce the ceremony, said on the show, “The Queen never told her family she was doing it. That was one of the conditions of her agreeing to be there.” You can even see the astonished faces of family members at the opening ceremony when the Queen arrives and takes her place, he says.
Millions in front of the TV
A skit, seen by more than a billion television viewers worldwide, was shown just before the Queen’s arrival at the Olympic Stadium. Viewers saw Craig’s 007 arrive at Buckingham Palace and the Queen greeted him with the words, “Good evening, Mr Bond.”
In the final scene of the video, two stunt people dressed as Queen and Bond parachuted into the stadium from a helicopter. Minutes later, the real queen arrived at her seat at the stadium in the same dress as the stuntwoman.
Daniel Craig, who has met the monarch in person several times, recently spoke about the 95-year-old’s humor during a guest appearance on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert”. Queen Elizabeth II is “very funny” and “always wants to make fun of it,” said Craig. “She always wants to make fun of me.”