Dawn French revealed she once went completely ‘over the line’ when speaking with King Charles III at an event.
The actress and comedian, 66, admitted she has a ‘bit of a fancy’ for his Royal Highness, 75, and blurted out she wanted to show the then Prince her beaver.
While discussing her new book, The T**t Files, on the Chris Evans Breakfast Show on Virgin Radio, Dawn recalled her embarrassing encounter with the Royal Family.
She said: ‘I was in one of the Narnia films. And I played Mrs. Beaver, opposite Ray Winstone, playing Mr. Beaver, and we went to the royal premiere.
‘I was quite excited about meeting Charlie, because I’ve got a bit of fancy for him. I’d like to ruffle his hair on a Sunday morning. You know, that kind of fancy.
‘He started it!’ Dawn French revealed that she once went completely ‘over the line’ when speaking with King Charles III at an event
Embarrassing: The actress and comedian, 66, admitted she has a ‘bit of a fancy’ for his royal highness, 75, and blurted out that she wanted to show the then Prince her beaver
‘Anyway, he was coming down the line, greeting everybody. And he started it, I have to say.
‘He started it because he had been to see A Midsummer Night’s Dream that I was in. And he said to me, “Well, the last time I saw you, I saw your Bottom”, referring to the character Bottom in Midsummer Night’s Dream, that I played.
‘And I thought, “Right, we’re off”. And I said, “Tonight, Sir, you will see my Beaver!” And then I did lots of over-laughing. And he very quickly moved on.’
She continued: ‘There was the line, and then French had gone over the line. And I was so busy gulping, and I heard Ray Winstone, of all people, make that noise, like, “Urghh”, next to me.
‘Even he knew that I was about to be beheaded.’
Unfortunately for Dawn it was not the end of her ‘putting her foot in it’, she continued: ‘As Prince Charles, as he then was, moved down the line quickly, I was looking at him, regretting everything, and I heard a noise in my ear, going “Dawn, Dawn”.
‘And I went, “YES, YES, YES, WHAT?”, and it was Camilla! And I went, “Oh, sorry, sorry, I was just telling him about my Beaver. No, sorry. Sorry.”
‘Everything just went wrong. Everything went wrong. But that’s me. See a royal and I just put my foot in it.’
Character: Dawn played Mrs Beaver (pictured) in the Narnia franchise
She said: ‘He had been to see A Midsummer Night’s Dream. And he said to me, “Well, the last time I saw you, I saw your Bottom”, referring to the character Bottom that I played. ‘And I thought, “Right, we’re off”. And I said, “Tonight, Sir, you will see my Beaver!”‘ (pictured 2005)
‘Everything went wrong’: Unfortunately for Dawn it was not the end of her ‘putting her foot in it’ in front of the royals as she soon slipped up with Queen Camilla
Dawn went on to recall attending the Women of the Year lunch one year with her close pal Jennifer Saunders where she had another royal meeting.
This time Dawn met Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York and was ‘left dripping with humiliation about her own behaviour’.
She said: ‘Jennifer and I, we’ve got a respect for the royal family. Of course we have. But this is Sarah Ferguson, and a lot of years ago. I was saying to Jennifer, “I’m not going to do curtseying. I’m equal to this person. I’m never going to be doing anything like that”.
‘She agreed. We’re not going to do that. Cut to the minute that Sarah Ferguson comes down the line. You’ve never seen more grovelly, obsequious genuflecting than from me. Something happened in my head. It’s like you immediately cave in.
‘And I looked at Jennifer and thought, “Look what’s happened to me, this isn’t gonna happen to you,” and then cut to her doing it. You leave dripping with humiliation about your own behaviour. You don’t even know why you’ve done it.’
