The Crown star Olivia Colman accidentally 'stumbled' into a meeting with the real Queen

Clark Collis

When I visited the U.K. set of The Crown last December for this month’s Entertainment Weekly cover story, Olivia Colman showed all the poise and composure playing Queen Elizabeth II on camera that one would expect from this acclaimed — and now Oscar-winning — actress. But the star of The Favourite and Fleabag can sometimes get more than a little flustered in real-life, as she revealed while recalling the time she met the actual Queen Elizabeth.

“I have accidentally met the Queen,” said the actress. “It was at a British Film Institute gathering to raise the profile of British film, independent film. We suddenly found ourselves, two hundred people, in a big queue. I thought maybe we were going in to have some food. I hadn’t read the order of the day. [I] looked around the corner, and there was the Queen and Prince Philip, and went, ‘Oh! Oh no! I don’t know what to do!’ And a gentleman with epaulettes said, ‘Don’t overdo it, little bow, and you say, Your Majesty, and your Royal Highness, and go. Make it as swift as possible and go.’ ‘Alright, Okay.’ And I managed to remember what to say, sort of sticky-handed and bit sort of stumbly. That was it!”

Season 3 of The Crown launches on Netflix Nov. 3.

To read more from the September issue of Entertainment Weekly, pick up a copy at Barnes & Noble this Thursday, or buy it here now. (The issue will be available on all newsstands starting Aug. 22.) Don’t forget to subscribe for more exclusive interviews and photos, only in EW.

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