Mum’s the word – Queen kept Olympic stunt secret from family

LONDON • The Queen’s extraordinary role in the Olympic Games opening ceremony was such a closely guarded secret that even the Prince of Wales and his sons were kept in the dark.

Lord Coe, the former head of London 2012, has disclosed that none of the Royal family knew about the Queen’s involvement nor that the film “even existed” and shared the astonishment of the crowd in the stadium as her parachuting adventure with James Bond unfolded.

“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,” he wrote in his autobiography.

He said that when the film cut to the back of the Queen, the Prince of Wales had “exactly the same reaction” as the rest of the world, which was to assume it was “the lady who does the impersonations.”

“But the moment she turned around, and everyone realized, ‘My God! It really is the Queen!’ he began roaring with laughter,” wrote Lord Coe. “As for his sons, they were beside themselves.”

The four-and-a-half minute film was set in the Queen’s private study at Buckingham Palace, where she briefed 007, played by Daniel Craig, on a “secret” Olympic mission.