One thing Queen refused to do

The actor who starred alongside Queen Elizabeth in the now iconic Paddington sketch months before her death has revealed what the late monarch wouldn’t do.

An ailing Queen Elizabeth II refused to give up when filming her Platinum Jubilee Paddington sketch — ploughing on until she nailed her lines.

In June 2022, Queen Elizabeth II, who died three months later, participated in a prerecorded sketch that kicked off the Platinum Party at the Palace concert. In a similar vein to the segment she filmed alongside Daniel Craig’s James Bond for the London Olympics opening ceremony in 2012, the sketch saw the Queen showcase her acting skills opposite the CGI Paddington Bear, voiced by Bond star, Ben Whishaw.

An ailing Queen Elizabeth II refused to give up when filming her Platinum Jubilee Paddington sketch. Picture: BBC

The Queen's determination impressed actor and writer Simon Farnaby, who played the royal footman in the clip. Picture: BBC

The late Queen was 96 and battling ill health and mobility problems when she filmed the award-winning sketch a few months before her death

By the end, she was tired and struggling with her punchline where she pulls a marmalade sarnie from her handbag and tells Paddington: “I keep mine in here.”

Farnaby said that the line had to be shot a few times as her tone was too severe.

But she kept going, finally nailing the line when the director told her to deliver it as if she was speaking to her grandchildren.

The Queen filmed the Paddington skit a few months before her death. Picture: AFP

Bond star Ben Wishaw voiced Paddington in the now-famous clip. Picture: Supplied

Her determination impressed actor and writer Simon Farnaby, who played the royal footman in the now iconic skit.

He lifted the lid on the day, telling the RHLSTP podcast: “The director would come in and say, ‘Ma’am, could you just be a bit gentler’. And she’d be so sweet and go, ‘I’m so sorry. Yes, of course’.

“He’d go, ‘Like you’re talking to your grandchildren’. She’d say, ‘Oh, of course. I’m so sorry’. I was saying to him, ‘Give up, just stop, we’re not going to get it’. And he said, ‘No, I think just a couple more’.”

The Queen had the many Paddington bears left in tribute to her mother-in-law to children. Picture: Getty Images

Farnaby, who co-wrote the Paddington 2 movie, said that when the Queen got the line right, “it was really sweet and really lovely”.

But the actor revealed he did have one awkward encounter with the Queen after misunderstanding something she told him.

Farnaby said that, he “Needlessly just went up to her” after filming had ended “and said ‘Ma’am, that was fantastic – you’re a very good actress’.”

Paddington Bears were left in tribute to late Queen after her death in September, 2022. Picture: Getty Images

When the queen replied: “Well, I do it all the time,” Farnaby said he thought “she was giving me a scoop”, and asked: “Ooh, you mean like playing the part of the Queen?”

However, she said in reply: “I beg your pardon?”, following which Farnaby said he “lost all of my confidence”.

“I thought she [meant] like it’s a part, a role, and I went, ‘I mean like it’s a role, isn’t it, the Queen, and you play it?’ and she said, ‘You know I am the Queen? Paddington’s not real – they’re actors, but I’m the Queen.”

Farnaby said she then elaborated she was alluding to her annual Christmas speech.

– with The Sun