Queen Elizabeth II always rose to the occasion when it came to celebrating key events in the UK. The monarch never shied away from requests for organisers of ceremonies that requested her participation. On Thursday (8 September), the Royal Family announced that the Queen died peacefully at Balmoral, aged 96, leading to tributes from the world of entertainment.
In the wake of her death, people are remembering her appearances at high-profile events, the most famous being at the London 2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony. Directed by Danny Boyle, the televised event occured on 27 July 2012. Things got off to an unexpected, but very fun start thanks to a special cameo by Queen Elizabeth II herself alongside Daniel Craig in character as James Bond. Duriong the skit, the fictional spy escorts the Queen from Buckingham Palace to the Olympics in a helicopter.
An actor playing the Queen was then shown jumping out of the aircraft fit with a Union Jack parachute. Making the scene even more fun was the fact that the Queen kept her involvement secret from her family. Earlier this year, production stage manager Sam Hunter told broadcaster Kirsty Wark:“The Queen never told her family she was doing it. That was one of the stipulations when she agreed to be part of it.”
According to Hunter, when you view the ceremony, you can see the surprise of her family members as they watch the moment for the first time simultaneously with the rest of the world. Another memorable skit involving the Queen occurred just three months ago during her platinum jubilee celebrations, when she performed a scene alongside Paddington Bear, voiced by Ben Whishsaw.
Following news of the monarch’s death, the fictional character’s official Twitter page paid tribute via a touching callback to the scene they shared together.
