How the late Queen kept a major secret from her family

The late Queen was known for having a wonderful sense of humour by those who knew her, and nothing made this clearer to the public than when she took on a very special role at the 2012 Olympics.

Queen Elizabeth II shocked the crowd at the Olympics opening ceremony – as well as viewers at home – after taking part in a James Bond sketch, which saw Her Majesty appearing to parachute into the stadium in all her finery for the evening’s entertainment. According to her former communications and press secretary Ailsa Anderson, the moment was kept a huge secret – even from her family!

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Chatting on HELLO!’s A Right Royal Podcast, Ailsa explained: “Danny Boyle approached the palace, and the Queen was asked, and she didn’t hesitate; she said yes! It was obviously all under wraps; no one knew about it, including the family!

“You looked at the expressions on people’s faces, like Zara and Mike Tindall, when it looked like the Queen was parachuting out of a helicopter; no one knew! It was that element of surprise.”

© Cameron Spencer
The late Queen kept the appearance a secret from her family

She continued: “I think it just demonstrated how the late Queen would take chances and also had this extraordinary sense of humour. The Paddington sketch she did at her Platinum Jubilee showed that cheeky sense of humour and her willingness to put her country before herself.”

HELLO!’s Royal Editor Emily Nash, who was reporting at the stadium at the time, added that there was an “audible gasp” when the audience saw ‘the Queen’ leap from the helicopter.

© OLIVIER MORIN
The late Queen was praised for her wonderful sense of humour

While Ailsa was at the palace while the Queen filmed with Daniel Craig, she unfortunately missed the chance to meet him, saying: “I was in the palace but I wasn’t there while the filming was happening. And he’s my favourite Bond!”

© Lars Baron
A performer in the role of Queen Elizabeth II parachutes out of a helicopter hovering above the stadium during the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games

Princes Harry and William previously opened up about their surprise at the Queen’s Bond moment during the ceremony, with Harry telling BBC News: “Both of us were slightly surprised by our grandmother’s secret hobby of parachuting, which went down unbelievably well… She did such a good performance that she has now been asked to star in the next Bond film. You don’t expect the Queen to do something like that, [but] what she does in her spare time is her spare time.”

William added: “To be honest, we were kept completely in the dark about it; that’s how big the secret was.”