Prince William’s quip about calling Dame Helen Mirren ‘granny’ when presenting her with a BAFTA Fellowship was so well received that William and Dame Helen will repeat the joke in a 30 venue UK tour.
A chuffed Prince William confided that he was very nervous before his intentional comedy debut but all the practise paid off when he got the jokes words in the right order and he remembered to smile at the end.
“I got the idea from watching Helen star as the Queen in “The Queen”. I thought, hey, my gran is actually the Queen and Helen plays the part of the Queen so she in effect is playing the part of my gran. So yeah, from there I thought I’d just flip them round and pretend that Helen was my gran when she is really just my aunt or something” said William.
Prince William said he was pretty sure he was onto a winner with the ‘granny’ joke after seeing how many times it had already been used on the internet, and he was relieved that the joke got a further seal of approval when BAFTA host and comedian Stephen Fry gave it an outing shortly before William essayed it.
Prince William and Dame Helen said obviously the ‘granny’ joke would be the centrepiece of their tour, but there would also be some physical comedy and the odd surprise.
“When we say ‘surprise’ think ‘breaking wind’” chortled Dame Helen.
The Duke of Cambridge was at pains to point out he wasn’t a one-joke wonder saying that he made two other quips off camera on BAFTA night.
“I was introduced to Angelina Jolie and I said ‘I should probably call you my new girlfriend’. Brad laughed so hard he forgot his own strength when he gave me a friendly dig in the ribs!”
“And then I finished the night at Buck Palace where I said to the Queen ‘I should probably call you a has-been, miserable elderly actor.”
“Helen, Helen, I was just joking, didn’t you see how I smiled at the end?”
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