Gyles Brandreth has said the Queen 'wouldn't have minded' being an actress as her recent performance alongside Paddington Bear resurfaced following her death. Queen Elizabeth II died peacefully on Thursday afternoon (September 8) at Balmoral, her Scottish Highlands home.
Charles, who is now King, was joined by the monarch's other children the Princess Royal, the Duke of York and the Earl of Wessex, alongside the Duke of Cambridge, now heir to the throne, and the Duke of Sussex, who arrived after the official announcement was made, also travelling there.
A brief statement from Buckingham Palace, issued at around 6.30pm on Thursday, said: "The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon. The King and The Queen Consort will remain at Balmoral this evening and will return to London tomorrow."
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Gyles, a broadcaster, former MP and author who was friends with The Duke of Edinburgh, has now spoke of the Queen's "wry sense of humour" and "electric smile". He told BBC Breakfast on Friday morning, as the BBC canceled all its scheduled programming to make way for rolling BBC News coverage: "She was extraordinary and it wasn’t simply because she was the Queen, I think it was the nature of her personality.
"That smile was electric. As the Queen grew older, she was conscious that her face sometimes looked a little bit grumpy unless she was smiling so she did flash that smile, but it was unbelievable. It really could light up a room. You saw it in that picture taken only on Tuesday, looking rather impish, clearly an elderly frail person, and yet with a twinkle in her eye.
"She had a wry sense of humour. I think the only thing that wasn’t on public display as much as it might have been over the years was her great sense of humour – never malicious that it was worldly wise."
Gyles, who is also a regular on This Morning and Celebrity Gogglebox, said the Queen "wouldn’t have minded" being an actress and described her appearance with Paddington Bear as "enchanting".
He told BBC Breakfast: "She was a different person for different generations, but my Goodness didn’t she do well to keep in touch? She could actually do a fist bump, she didn’t like mobile phones at the dining table, but she did know how to use one. To see her with Paddington Bear, just this last summer, only a few months ago, was a complete enchantment.
"I think that she wouldn’t have minded being an actress. I once had a conversation with her about Windsor Castle. She talked about the war and when she appeared in Christmas pantomimes, and said she’d rather enjoyed being principal boy. I said, 'Would you like to be an actress?’
"'Well, maybe'. We could see the end of her life. What a brilliant actress she would have been."
Paddington, the fluffy animated bear, thanked the Queen for her record seven decades on the throne in a social media tribute following her death on Thursday. It came months after viewers around the world were captivated by the adorable segment which was aired before the Jubilee concert, at Buckingham Palace.
It saw The Queen sit down at a table opposite a clumsy Paddington Bear in the iconic palace just before the BBC's Party at the Palace. In the sketch, the animated children's character was seen having tea with Her Majesty and offering her a marmalade sandwich, only for her to pull her own from her handbag.
The Peruvian bear then congratulated the Queen on her 70-year reign, saying: "Happy Jubilee Ma’am. And thank you for everything.” And she replied: “That’s very kind." They were then informed the special Jubilee concert was about to start and tapped along to Queen's 'We Will Rock You' on their teacups.
After the announcement of the Queen's death, the official account for Paddington Bear tweeted: "Thank you Ma’am, for everything."
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