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The Queen did not tell the royal family about her James Bond Olympics skit with Daniel Craig

Sketch aired as part of the 2012 opening ceremony

Annabel Nugent
Tuesday 19 April 2022 06:49 BST
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James Bond escorts the Queen to the London 2012 Olympics

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The Queen kept her James Bond Olympics skit a secret from her family.

Queen Elizabeth II starred opposite Daniel Craig in a funny sketch that aired during the London 2012 Summer Olympics.

On a recent episode of BBC Radio Four’s show The Reunion, host Kirsty Wark spoke with members of the production team behind the event’s opening ceremony, which featured the sketch.

The skit sees Craig’s 007 escoting the Queen to the London Olympic Stadium.

“The queen never told her family she was doing it. That was one of the stipulations when she agreed to be part of it,” production stage manager Sam Hunter told Wark.

“So if you actually see when she comes and she takes her seat, you can see her family go, ‘Ah, nice one.’”

The production team also had to keep the secret from some members of the government.

“What was hard was that you didn’t really want to say much to the cabinet because you didn’t know how secure they were,” said executive-producer Stephen Daldry.

Earlier this year, Craig opened up the details of their meeting during an appearance on The Late Show.

The actor specifically recalled a “very funny” joke that the royal cracked at his expense.

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