Daniel Craig has reflected on filming his 007 comedy sketch with the Queen after the sad news that Her Majesty passed away on Thursday.
The actor, 54, was joined by the monarch at Buckingham Palace when she made a cameo appearance in Danny Boyle’s opening ceremony for the Olympic Games in 2012.
In the film, Daniel, who played British spy 007, popped into the palace Buckingham Palace to invite the Queen to the event.
The great-grandmother, who was sitting at her writing desk, made him wait before greeting him with the words: “Good evening, Mr Bond.”
The pair then left the room - corgis in tow - before getting into a helicopter, flying over London to the Olympic Stadium.
The sketch concluded with a stunt double of the Queen parachuting into the arena before Her Majesty, wearing the same dress as the stunt double, entered the stadium to rapturous applause.
Recalling the special occasion, Daniel told the BBC at the Toronto International Film Festival: “What an incredible thing.
“We will not see the likes of her ever again. To be alive during her reign is something else.”
He added: “(I’m) very saddened, so I suppose good luck to Charles, really.”
Frank Cottrell-Boyce, who co-wrote the Queen’s TV appearances with Paddington Bear and Daniel Craig, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Friday that the Queen had volunteered herself for the Bond scene.
He said: “We went to the Palace asking for permission to represent her and to know what she was wearing on the day, and it was her amazing dresser who said ‘No, no, she wants to be in it.’ She was game and she was up for that.
“In fact on the day when we were filming, she asked Danny Boyle if she could have a line because there wasn’t a line in the script, probably because when I was typing the script I didn’t quite know how you would type the character of the Queen… What would you type?”
Her Majesty also popped up in a video with her grandson Prince Harry, promoting the Invictus Games in 2014.
In the hilarious footage, Harry and his grandmother are seen sitting on a sofa in Buckingham Palace, when the prince gets a call from Michelle Obama.
The former First Lady says: "Hey Prince Harry remember when you told us to bring it at the Invictus Games?"
President Obama chips in with: "Careful what you wish for."
However the camera then cuts back to the Queen, who witheringly and quite brilliantly says: "Oh really, please."
This weekend, the Daily Mirror and Sunday Mirror celebrate the life of Her Majesty the Queen with a commemorative special filled with all the key moments from Britain’s longest reigning monarch. Be sure to pick up your copy of the Daily Mirror and Sunday Mirror to get both pullouts.
You can leave your tributes to Queen Elizabeth II here
