The secret to the Queen’s acting success with Paddington has been revealed

Her Majesty the Queen stunned the nation with a surprise film appearance alongside Paddington the Bear to mark her platinum anniversary.

Now Simon Farnaby, author of the sketch, has revealed that the Queen struggled to stick to her rules that day but carried on despite her ill health.

The Queen was 96 years old when she sat down to film the secret scene, which was to be broadcast as part of her Platinum Jubilee celebrations in June 2022, just months before her death.

Farnaby, who also wrote the hit film Paddington 2 and appeared in the sketch as a Buckingham Palace footman, told the Richard Herring podcast that the Queen had been given the rule to keep her jam sandwich in her handbag, but initially said it too loudly and struggled to get the rules to remember.

The author revealed in the podcast:
“The principal came in and said, ‘Ma’am, could you be a little nicer?'” And she was so sweet and said, “I’m so sorry, yes of course.”

“He said, ‘It’s like talking to your grandchildren.’ She would say, ‘Oh, of course.’ I am very sorry.'”

The Queen and her co-star managed to surprise the nation with the skit after filming in total secrecy. Members of her family, including the then Prince of Wales, now King Charles, and her grandson Prince William were seen in the crowd, who were just as surprised as everyone else when she appeared on screen with the beloved bear. After the Queen’s death in September 2022, the police had to demand that small Paddington bears no longer be left as tribute at the palace gates, as it became difficult to get rid of them.

Farnaby added that when he complimented the Queen on her acting skills, she told him it was because she was actually the Queen. “I do it all the time,” she said.