It’s always lovely to get these little tidbits of the Queen beyond her role as monarch. And the latest revelation is especially charming: The Queen has reportedly seen all the James Bond movies.
The news comes from royal biographer Gyles Brandreth, who’s spent time with the 95-year-old monarch, and said he enjoyed learning about her surprising interests as much as we all do. According to Express, “The fun of spending time with her was finding out unexpected things about her...She really did love all the early James Bond films.” Apparently she still watches them, though she preferred the earlier movies, “before they got so loud,” said Brandreth.
It’s fitting that we find this out just days after the London premiere of No Time to Die, the fifth and final Daniel Craig-starring 007 film. The premiere was especially noteworthy because Prince Charles, Camilla, Prince William, and Kate Middleton—looking absolutely stunning in a gold gown—all attended. The Queen herself has also gone to several Bond premieres, most recently the premiere of Casino Royale in 2006. Apparently the whole family loves Bond!
The royal family at the No Time to Die premiere in London last week.
In a way, it makes sense: Arguably two of the most British things in existence are the Queen and James Bond. But the franchise also traces Queen Elizabeth II’s monarchy, in a way. The first Bond book by Ian Fleming, Casino Royale, came out in 1953, just a year after Elizabeth II ascended the throne Queen. The first movie followed a decade later, and the films have come out every few years throughout her reign—a legacy that's formed alongside her own. And occasionally they even intersect, like when the Danny Boyle-directed opening ceremony for the London Olympics included a James Bond send-up in which the Queen "jumped" out of a helicopter alongside Daniel Craig:
Brandreth also reported, again per Express, that the Queen is pretty good at impressions, and does a pretty good take of 1930s singer George Formby.
I’ll say it again: We live for these little glimpses behind the curtain.