Footage shows Paddington and Her Royal Majesty The Queen, having a tea party at Buckingham Palace, for The Queen's Platinum Jubilee concert. Paddington is seen drinking tea out of the tea pot but apologies to the Queen for finishing it.
Yesterday we learned the full, moving details of the late Queen's final hours from Craig Brown's enthralling new book on Queen Elizabeth II. Today, he reveals the remarkable behind-the-scenes story of how she made her film debut opposite James Bond, and how even her family were taken by surprise.
When the idea was first put to her, she leapt at it. Before her deputy private secretary, Edward Young, finished telling her what she would have to do, she interrupted him. 'I know – and then I jump out of the helicopter?' But to Boyle's surprise Kelly said she thought the Queen might prefer to play herself, and asked them to wait a few minutes. '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,' remembers Kelly.
On the day itself, says Boyle, the Queen 'was a one-take wonder'. She had a keen sense of drama, and knew how to keep an audience on tenterhooks. 'It was her idea that she should be finishing a letter before she spoke.' Bond is escorted into the Queen's study. 'Mr Bond, Your Majesty,' says Whybrew. The familiar figure at the desk, her back towards him, fails to look up.
'When we are surprised our prejudices and opinions evaporate for a moment and we're briefly open-hearted. One of the most common reactions to that moment was: 'I never felt patriotic before.' As the familiar twangy James Bond theme tune plays, her parachute opens out into a Union Jack. Seconds later, the Queen – the real Queen – enters the stadium to a standing ovation.
At the age of 96, the Queen drew unanimous praise for her performance, in which she takes afternoon tea with Paddington Bear. 'Wasn't she good? I mean really, really good?' reckoned Dame Judi Dench. 'Her timing was perfect. Every look, every line was just right. It was completely on the money – none of it overstated. Just wonderful.'
It later emerged that the Queen had experienced trouble with one particular line. Simon Farnaby, the actor who played her footman, recalls: 'There was a bit where Paddington says, 'I keep my sandwiches in my hat. I keep it for emergencies.' She goes, 'So do I. I keep mine in here,' and she handbag. The monarch traditionally has the right 'to be consulted, to advise and to warn'. But not to opine: the Queen took care to keep her opinions to herself, or at least to couch them as questions.
Osborne reacted with deference. 'I was, like, 'Of course not, Your Majesty.' The next day I got into the Treasury and I said, 'Is there a bagpipe school? And for God's sake tell me we are not closing it down.' Imagining she had been shot, the protection officer leapt on her and started giving her mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
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