Remembering the Time Prince Prince Philip Saved James Bond

From Town & Country

Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh and the husband of Queen Elizabeth II, has died at 99, with Buckingham Palace announcing that he passed away peacefully at Windsor Castle. His Royal Highness will be remembered for many things—his affiliation with over 800 charities, his efforts to modernize the staid monarchy, his often-controversial remarks—but as we commemorate his life, we must be sure to credit one of his biggest, but lesser known deeds: saving James Bond.

In 1964, Goldfinger came to American shores. Starring Sean Connery as Bond and Honor Blackman as Pussy Galore, the film almost didn’t see the light of day in the United States, as censors found the double entendre of Pussy Galore’s name distasteful. With Goldfinger at risk of being banned in one of the world’s biggest movie markets, the studio’s publicity team plotted to save the film, with the assistance of the British monarchy.

In February 1964, Blackman was sent to a London gala event, the Royal Film Performance of Move Over Darling, where she was photographed with Prince Philip. Prince Philip asked Blackman if she could manage the public attention of working on a Bond film, then made what was reported as “an expansive wave of the arm,” presumably gesturing to the eager crowds. Thinking he was ape-ing her martial arts background in a television show titled The Avengers, Blackman leapt into a judo stance, saying, “Yes, I certainly can.” Her body language left everyone in stitches, and the encounter was photographed by the tabloid press.

The next day, the photographs were everywhere, with the headline, “The Prince and the Pussy.” Albert R. Broccoli, the producer of Goldfinger, flew to the United States with a host of newspaper clippings, which were presented before film censor Geoffrey Shurlock. Blackman recalled that Shurlock and members of the censor board “were taken aback.” They went on to conclude that the film was not indecent—after all, would the Duke of Edinburgh associate with an actress playing an indecent character? Goldfinger was summarily approved for distribution in the United States, where it went on to rake in over $50 million.

And that’s how the Prince saved the spy—but perhaps the two have more in common than it seems. British actress Joanna Lumley insists that Prince Philip, once a dashing young sportsman and military officer, could have been cast as Bond.

“I think he’s just an extraordinary character—he rides, sails, drives horses, fishes, swims,” Lumley said. “He really could have been Bond. He was a naval commander, as well—Commander Bond.”

In 2012, Queen Elizabeth appeared with Daniel Craig in a James Bond mini-movie. And throughout the decades, Elizabeth and Philip were regulars at the 007 movie premieres.

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