Oh my God, what have we done?': Seb Coe's fear as he watched 'Queen' leap from helicopter in Olympics Ceremony while Prince Charles roared with laughter
It was hailed as one of the greatest
moments in British television history but as the Queen appeared to
parachute into the Olympic Stadium this summer Seb Coe thought: 'Oh my
God! What have we sanctioned here!'
As part of the lavish London 2012 opening ceremony Britain's Monarch was shown jumping from a helicopter with James Bond actor Daniel Craig, but ever since there has been mystery surrounding how, exactly, she was persuaded to do it - until now.
Lifting the lid on her first movie role, Seb Coe has revealed the audacious stunt had been kept a secret from the Queen's own dumbstruck family who watched it unfold on July 27 this year.
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Prince Charles 'roared with
laughter' and Princes Harry and William began yelling 'Go Granny!' as
she was shown flying across the London sky before appearing in the Royal
box, he said.
In his autobiography, Running My Life and serialised in The Times, Lord Coe discusses how director Danny Boyle, LOCOG CEO Paul Deighton and even the Prime Minister had helped make it happen and admitted he was 'speechless and nervous' about it.
'When we saw those shoes and peach coloured dress disappearing into the night sky under a billowing parachute, we (he and Paul Deighton) looked at each other, both thinking "Oh my God! What have we sanctioned here!"', he wrote.
During the ceremony Prince William and Prince Harry were sat behind Lord Coe, who was sat next to Prince Charles.
'Prince Charles looked at me and began laughing rather nervously, wondering where on earth this was going. And when the film cut to the shot of the Royal back, he had exactly the same reaction as everyone else, which was to assume that it was the lady who does the impersonations. But the moment she turned around and everyone realised "My God! It really is the Queen!" he began roaring with laughter. As for his sons, they were beside themselves.
'As she started her descent, two voices behing me (William and Harry) shouted in unison "Go Granny!"'.
Danny Boyle had the original idea and Lord Coe knew the Queen's deputy private secretary Edward Young. David Cameron was then informed, who also thought it was a great idea, so brought it up with the Queen during their weekly audience at the Palace.
'I'll never forget when Danny showed Pail (Deighton) and me the finished film. Even though we had been involved at every stage from storyboard to final script. the wit, fun and sheer audacity left us speechless.'
The recorded sequence opened at Buckingham Palace, where a tuxedo-wearing Craig as 007 was presented to the Queen by her personal footman as she was writing a letter and training her corgis Monty, Willow and Holly to roll over.
Greeting him with an ‘Evening, Mr Bond’,
the Queen, in a rose-pink dress, was seen striding briskly through the
palace with the action hero before climbing into a helicopter emblazoned
with the Union Flag.
The two were depicted as soaring over the streets of London and through Tower Bridge until they finally reached the Olympic Park.
As the film reached its climax, spectators inside the east London stadium heard an AgustaWestland AW139 helicopter, which finally appeared hovering above.
As the aircraft steadied in the movie sequence, Bond was seen opening the door and appearing to hesitate. While he dithered, the figure of the Queen pushed past him and dived out into the air followed by 007 – Union Jack parachutes streaming behind them. Meanwhile, from the real helicopter above the stadium, the same two figures appeared to plunge to earth.
As part of the lavish London 2012 opening ceremony Britain's Monarch was shown jumping from a helicopter with James Bond actor Daniel Craig, but ever since there has been mystery surrounding how, exactly, she was persuaded to do it - until now.
Lifting the lid on her first movie role, Seb Coe has revealed the audacious stunt had been kept a secret from the Queen's own dumbstruck family who watched it unfold on July 27 this year.
Scroll down for video
Iconic: The Queen was shown jumping out of a
helicopter and parachuting into the Olympic Stadium in a secret sequence
kept from her own family
Secret: Lord Coe has revealed in his book that
he was one of a few people who knew about the audacious stunt but when
it unfolded in front of him he thought 'What have we done?!'
In his autobiography, Running My Life and serialised in The Times, Lord Coe discusses how director Danny Boyle, LOCOG CEO Paul Deighton and even the Prime Minister had helped make it happen and admitted he was 'speechless and nervous' about it.
'When we saw those shoes and peach coloured dress disappearing into the night sky under a billowing parachute, we (he and Paul Deighton) looked at each other, both thinking "Oh my God! What have we sanctioned here!"', he wrote.
Reaction: The Queen's enthralled family, including her laughing son Prince Charles as she took her seat afterwards
'Prince Charles looked at me and began laughing rather nervously, wondering where on earth this was going. And when the film cut to the shot of the Royal back, he had exactly the same reaction as everyone else, which was to assume that it was the lady who does the impersonations. But the moment she turned around and everyone realised "My God! It really is the Queen!" he began roaring with laughter. As for his sons, they were beside themselves.
'As she started her descent, two voices behing me (William and Harry) shouted in unison "Go Granny!"'.
Danny Boyle had the original idea and Lord Coe knew the Queen's deputy private secretary Edward Young. David Cameron was then informed, who also thought it was a great idea, so brought it up with the Queen during their weekly audience at the Palace.
'I'll never forget when Danny showed Pail (Deighton) and me the finished film. Even though we had been involved at every stage from storyboard to final script. the wit, fun and sheer audacity left us speechless.'
The recorded sequence opened at Buckingham Palace, where a tuxedo-wearing Craig as 007 was presented to the Queen by her personal footman as she was writing a letter and training her corgis Monty, Willow and Holly to roll over.
The Queen and James Bond drop into the Olympic Stadium
The Queen greets 007 at Buckingham Palace with
the words 'Good Evening, Mr Bond' in the film sequence leading up to her
parachute 'jump'
Olympics opening skit: James Bond and the Queen
make their way to the waiting helicopter through the corridors of
Buckingham Palace
The two were depicted as soaring over the streets of London and through Tower Bridge until they finally reached the Olympic Park.
As the film reached its climax, spectators inside the east London stadium heard an AgustaWestland AW139 helicopter, which finally appeared hovering above.
As the aircraft steadied in the movie sequence, Bond was seen opening the door and appearing to hesitate. While he dithered, the figure of the Queen pushed past him and dived out into the air followed by 007 – Union Jack parachutes streaming behind them. Meanwhile, from the real helicopter above the stadium, the same two figures appeared to plunge to earth.
The Royal corgis had a starring role in the film sequence leading up to the helicopter jump
Smooth operators: James Bond actor Daniel Craig and the Queen in the helicopter
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