Remember that iconic sketch that Queen Elizabeth II did with Paddington Bear that was released during her Platinum Jubilee? Where the iconic British “celebrities” have tea together? Well — really Paddington has the tea. Her Majesty just gets mere drops of what’s left after the beloved storybook character chugs straight from the pot.
Paddington Bear then offers her a marmalade sandwich from his hat, saying he always keeps one for emergencies.
“So do I,” Queen Elizabeth responds, pulling one from her purse.
In a recent appearance on the RHLSTP with Richard Herring podcast, Simon Farnaby — who played the butler in the sketch — revealed that the Queen wasn’t quite nailing that line.
“The director would come in [and say], ‘Ma’am, could you just be a bit gentler?'” Farnaby recounted.
Pause: Can you imagine having to be the one to give the Queen any sort of direction? No thanks. Wouldn’t do that for all the marmalade sandwiches in the world.
“And she’d be so sweet and she’d go, ‘I’m so sorry — yes, of course,’” Farnaby said. “He’d go, ‘Like you’re talking to your grandchildren.’ She’d say, ‘Oh, of course. I’m so sorry.’”
The late sovereign had eight grandchildren (including Prince William and Prince Harry) and 12 great-grandchildren when she passed away last year (including Prince George, Princess Charlotte, Prince Louis, Prince Archie, and Princess Lilibet).
Farnaby said that eventually Queen Elizabeth perfected the line in a really “sweet” and “lovely” way, and that “everyone was relieved.”
“I needlessly went up to her and said, ‘Ma’am, that was fantastic,’ and she said, ‘Oh, thank you.’”
He went on to tell her she’s a very good actress to which she said, “Well, of course — I do it all the time.” The actor assumed she meant because she “plays the part” of the Queen.
“She went, ‘I beg your pardon?’”
If your stomach dropped reading that, you’re not the only one. Farnaby joked that he “lost all his confidence” after that. Because talk about awkward!
Her Majesty meant she would “act” (so to speak) when she delivered her annual Christmas Day address.
“‘No, I meant at Christmas, when I do my speeches, but then it’s all written down, you see, and now I have to remember it, so I find it quite hard,’” he said. “So that was my conversation.”
Well, that last part is a bit cringe (can you imagine basically implying to the Queen that she’s a phony?!), but the first part is so sweet to hear. While she likely thinks about the entirety of the Commonwealth during her Christmas speech to nail the regal tone, it just took thinking about her grandkids to make talking to an animated character seem totally natural.
To most, she was Queen Elizabeth II — but to some, she was simply “Granny”.
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