Paddington writer Simon Farnaby reveals how the late Queen nailed her lines after being told to speak ‘like you’re talking to your grandchildren’ in famous sketch with the fictional bear

• READ MORE: Laid bear, the secrets of Operation Ma’amalade: How the Queen spent half a day recording the surprise Paddington sketch at Windsor 

Paddington writer Simon Farnaby has revealed how Queen Elizabeth II performed her lines perfectly in the famous sketch with the fictional bear – after being told to speak ‘like you’re talking to your grandchildren’.

The comedian and writer, who is a long-standing member of the Horrible Histories troupe, featured as a footman alongside the late monarch when she appeared in a special sketch to celebrate her Platinum Jubilee.

Her late Majesty delighted audiences at the televised Platinum Party at the Palace in June 2022 after kicking off the festivities with an appearance alongside the fictional character – in which they both enjoyed a chaotic cream tea. 

But Farnaby, who co-wrote the Paddington 2 film, said that the late Queen had difficulty with the tone in which she delivered one of her lines but nailed it after being told to speak as if she was talking to her grandchildren.

‘It was ok in the end,’ he told Richard Herring’s podcast. ‘There was one conversation. There was a bit where Paddington says “I keep my marmalade sandwiches in my hat, I keep it for emergencies”. 

Paddington writer Simon Farnaby has revealed how Queen Elizabeth II performed her lines perfectly in the famous sketch (pictured) with the fictional bear – after being told to speak ‘like you’re talking to your grandchildren’ 

She goes, “So do I. I keep mine in here”, and she has a handbag.’ But Farnaby added that at first the late Queen’s tone was quite harsh.

‘The director would come in and say “Ma’am, could you just be a bit gentler,”‘ he recalled. ‘And she’d be so sweet and she’d 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.’

Farnaby said that eventually the late Queen – who was getting tired – got the line right and “it was really sweet and really lovely”.

He also recalled how afterwards he complimented Queen Elizabeth on her performance. But he said that in the conversation that followed she seemed to think he didn’t know she was the actual Queen.

Recalling making the film, the 50-year-old said: ‘That was a very special thing to be part of. That was part of history and great to be there. I was in the same room. It was quite the day.

Her late Majesty delighted audiences at the televised Platinum Party at the Palace in June 2022 after kicking off the festivities with an appearance alongside the fictional character – in which they both enjoyed a chaotic cream tea

The late sovereign can be seen sitting with eight of her great-grandchildren in a heart-warming photographed taken by the Princess of Wales at Balmoral last summer, and shared to mark what would have been her 97th birthday. Pictured left the right: back row: Lady Louise Windsor and James, Earl Wessex. Second row: Lena Tindall, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, Isla Phillips and Prince Louis. Front row: Mia Tindall holding Lucas Tindall. The late Queen Elizabeth II and Savannah Phillips

‘I needlessly just went up to her [afterwards] and said “Ma’am, that was fantastic and she went “oh thank you”. You’re a very good actress. And she said “Well, I do it all the time.”

‘I went “Ooh, you mean like playing the part of the Queen?” And she went “I beg your pardon?” And then I lost all my confidence. I thought she was giving me the scoop, 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.

‘”I meant at Christmas when I do my speeches but then it’s all written down and now I have to remember it and I find it quite hard”.

In the sketch, accident-prone Paddington was shown causing mayhem by accidentally depriving the understanding sovereign of another cup of tea and spraying cream from a chocolate éclair over a Palace Footman. 

The Queen’s secret clip was the result of months of planning, and saw the duffle-coat wearing bear show the late monarch how he ensured he always had his favourite treat on him just in case, lifting up his red hat to reveal his snack. 

Her late Majesty responded by revealing ‘So do I’ before opening her bag and declaring ‘I keep mine in here’ to show her very own ready-made supply of the bread and orange preserve staple. 

The bear from deepest darkest Peru congratulated the Queen on her reign of 70 years, saying: ‘Happy Jubilee Ma’am. And thank you. For everything.’ The modest Queen replied: ‘That’s very kind.’

The comedian and writer, who is a long-standing member of the Horrible Histories troupe, featured as a footman (pictured) alongside the late monarch when she appeared in a special sketch to celebrate her Platinum Jubilee  

Filmed at Windsor Castle, the Queen spent around half a day filming the secretly-pre-recorded humorous two-and-a-half-minute sequence, according to The Telegraph, and the comic sketch was a surprise even to some of her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren watching the scenes.

The publication said palace aides refused to ‘ruin the magic’ by explaining how the late monarch was able to talk with the fictional bear – however the character, voiced by Ben Whishaw, who played Q in the recent James Bond films, has previously been filmed as just a mechanical head before visual effects are added digitally. 

Source: Read Full Article