Rosamund Pike has revealed the nerves she felt when she met the Queen at the royal premiere of Die Another Day and said she practised her curtsy beforehand.
The actress met the monarch after she played Miranda Frost in the 2002 Bond film opposite Pierce Brosnan.
She said: “When we met the Queen there were so many things that could go wrong in terms of the correct way to behave.
“I know that a lot of the younger royals don’t stand on the ceremony, but I think you still want to get it right – certainly when you are meeting the Queen.
“So, I practised my curtsy, saying ma’am and when to say, ‘Your Royal Highness’ or ‘Your Majesty’.
“I have a very wonderful, treasured photo of myself, Madonna (who sang the film’s theme song) and the Queen from that meeting.
“I am sort of mid-curtsy looking slightly anxious, but I was only aged 21 and it was a very big night for me.”
Pike will lend her voice to the royal train, named the Duchess of Loughborough, in a special episode of Thomas & Friends to mark the 75th anniversary of Thomas The Tank Engine.
The episode sees Thomas travel to London for first time on a mission to take Sir Topham Hatt to Buckingham Palace to receive an honour and features the Queen and a young Prince of Wales as characters. It also features a video introduction from the Duke of Sussex.
She said: “It is a beautiful and apt episode for the 75th anniversary of Thomas & Friends. It has all the key characters, some new ones and some unexpected ones.
“It puts Thomas front and centre by giving him a very noble and important challenge in which he emerges triumphant.
“There are some things that go wrong, some misunderstandings and a bit of confusion, but the message is that teamwork gets you through.”
She added: “I was very excited to be asked to be in the 75th anniversary celebratory special.
“It was a lovely invitation to be asked to join a much-loved family and was a very easy ‘yes’.
“I also think it is fun to voice something mechanical like an engine rather than a person as you have to capture their busyness and the mechanics and somehow encapsulate that in the voice. I took it as a big responsibility to play Duchess.”
Thomas & Friends: The Royal Engine will air on Milkshake! on Channel 5 on May 2 at 9.05am and will stream on Netflix in the US on May 1
