How Queen Elizabeth really reacted when she was asked to ‘jump out of a helicopter’ at the London Olympics – and Prince Charles’s ‘nervous’ response to the surprise stunt

It may well be the most remembered moment of the 2012 London Olympics.

A tuxedo-wearing Daniel Craig making his way into Buckingham Palace, past corgis Monty, Willow and Holly to be presented to the Queen by her personal footman Paul Whybrew.

With her back to the camera, most Brits, including Prince Charles, assumed that the monarch in the peach dress was a body double – perhaps Helen Mirren.

But when she turned to greet the spy with an articulate ‘Evening, Mr Bond’, there was no doubt that this was the real Queen.

The unlikely duo then soared over London in a helicopter emblazoned with the Union Jack before they reached the Olympic Park where in real time, spectators in the east London stadium looked up to see an AgustaWestland AW139.

As the aircraft steadied in the movie sequence, Bond was seen opening the door and appearing to hesitate. While he dithered, the figure of the Queen pushed past him and dived out into the air closely followed by 007 – Union Jack parachutes streaming behind them.

Meanwhile, from the real helicopter above the stadium, the same two figures appeared to plunge to earth. And, with the familiar Bond theme tune sounding around the stadium, the spotlight shone on the Royal Box to reveal the Queen in exactly the same dress she wore in the film.

So just how did director Danny Boyle convince the Queen to participate in such a tongue-in-cheek stunt sequence? It turns out, he didn’t.

Daniel Craig as 007, Queen Elizabeth and her personal footman Paul Whybrew and a corgi make their way through Buckingham Palace

From the Industrial Revolution to the unsung heroes of the National Health Service, Boyle wanted his opening ceremony to represent all of British history.

But the Oscar-award winning director also knew that the London Olympics demanded the presence of the reigning monarch, whether real or a body double.

The initial idea was to have Her Majesty arrive to the opening ceremony via the tube but security would prove to be too big an issue.

Instead, he decided he would have the Queen ‘drop’ into the stadium from a helicopter. And to up the ante, she would be joined by another cultural icon – James Bond.

Craig’s role would be to rescue the Queen from a security threat that jeopardised her safe arrival at an undisclosed event.

‘We wrote up this James Bond idea and we sent it into [Buckingham Palace],’ the Oscar-award winning director told Jonathan Ross. ‘We were asking really for permission.

‘For them to accept that it wouldn’t embarrass them and we would get a double – a good double. We were thinking Helen Mirren.

‘They came back and said: “We are delighted for you to do it and Her Majesty would like to be in it herself. She would like to play herself”.’

From the Suffragettes and the Industrial Revolution to the unsung heroes of the National Heath Service, the London 2012 opening ceremony set out to represent all of British history

Oscar-award winning director Danny Boyle was the mastermind behind the Olympics opening ceremony

‘The Queen’ drops from the helicopter above the Olympic Park in Stratford, London, followed closely by Bond

Queen Elizabeth II then took to her seat in the Royal Box to enjoy the rest of the show – as if nothing had happened

Boyle was so stunned by the Palace’s response that he had to double check whether or not it was April Fools’ Day.

Describing the day of filming, Boyle revealed that the Queen had been at the dentists all morning and was therefore ‘not in a very good mood’.

‘That put me in my place immediately,’ he quipped to Ross.

Although there were no speaking lines planned for the Queen, she quickly suggested that she say something to 007.

According to her trusted dresser Angela Kelly, the Queen was ‘delighted’ with the line they came up with: ‘Good evening, Mr Bond.’

Boyle said the Queen delivered her lines ‘beautifully’ and had the ‘instincts of a performer’ as she is, after all, ‘on stage’ all the time.

Craig, however, felt as though he was in a surreal dream throughout.

‘There’s a moment in it,’ Boyle remembered, ‘where she walks past him and you can see him as an actor just thinking: “This is weird.”‘

According to her trusted dresser Angela Kelly (pictured), the Queen was ‘delighted’ with the line they came up with: ‘Good evening, Mr Bond’

The Queen made quite an entrance to the opening ceremony. Her Majesty kept her involvement in the James Bond stunt a secret, as she thought it would be a great joke to amuse her grandchildren 

She and her husband Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, are greeted with thunderous applause. The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, was also in attendance – along with the Queen’s grandchildren and the Princess of Wales

According to royal author Tina Brown, the late Queen had a heartwarming reason for taking on the unexpected role.

‘She thought it would be a great joke to amuse her grandchildren,’ Brown wrote in her book Palace Papers.

‘Her only real concern was keeping it a secret until the moment she walked out in person after the “leap” to take her place with Philip in the royal box.’

But keep it a secret, she did.

Sebastian Coe, an accomplished middle distance runner who headed the successful London 2012 Olympic bid, watched the opening ceremony next to Charles, then Prince of Wales.

Prince William and Prince Harry were sitting in the row behind.

‘None of them knew about the Queen’s involvement, nor that the film even existed,’ Coe told Brown.

‘So when the sequence began, with the corgis racing up what were obviously very familiar stairs, Prince Charles looked at me and began laughing rather nervously, wondering where on earth this was going.

A collective gasp echoed around the stadium when spectators realised the real Queen on-screen

Sebastian Coe at the opening ceremony with his wife. A host of familiar faces can be seen alongside the couple, including former Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg standing beside the Duke of Sussex

Prince Charles (pictured with Camilla at the opening ceremony) had no idea of his mother’s involvement in the film

‘And when the film cut to the shot of the royal back, he had exactly the same reaction as everyone else which was to assume it was the lady who does the impersonations.

‘But the moment she turned around, and everyone realised, “My god! It really is the Queen!’ he began roaring with laughter.

‘As for his sons, they were beside themselves. As she started her descent two voices shouted out in unison behind me, “Go, Granny!” For me that was the nicest thing.’

Mission accomplished.