The Royal Family’s connection to acting and Princess Beatrice’s surprising Hollywood film debut alongside Emily Blunt

Today, Princess Beatrice, the eldest child of Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, and Prince Andrew, celebrates her 37th birthday.  

Growing up in the public eye, Beatrice became best known for her striking appearance and sometimes questionable fashion choices.

As a member of the Royal Family, the Princess would often brush shoulders with the rich and famous. 

And before her cousin Prince Harry married American actress Meghan Markle, Beatrice was working hard to pursue her own career on the big screen.

While studying at St George’s School in Ascot, Beatrice achieved a grade A in A Level drama and a B in Film Studies.

In 2009, when the Princess was 21 years old, she became the first member of the family to appear in a non-documentary film when she made her acting debut with a small, non-speaking role as an extra in The Young Victoria.

During the time filming took place in 2007, the Daily Mail reported that Beatrice ‘absolutely loved’ working on the film, particularly her spectacular corseted period costume.

Emily Blunt plays Victoria in the film and Rupert Friend is Albert. Bea’s mother, the Duchess of York, was an executive producer and provided the original idea for a movie about Victoria’s early years. 

In 2009 Sarah Ferguson wrote in the Daily Mail: ‘I remember seeing a portrait of Victoria’s youngest daughter Beatrice, after whom my Beatrice had been named.

‘She looked so much like my Beatrice, it was extraordinary.

‘From the beginning, this film was something close to my heart and my family.

‘Beatrice came on set one day and, on the spur of the moment, was asked if she would like to play a lady-in-waiting at the Coronation.

‘It is an incredibly powerful scene, awe-inspiring really, and for Beatrice the fact that this family history is also national history is quite moving. 

‘She absolutely loved it, though I think she was surprised at how hard they all work on a film set.’

But not all members of the Royal Family were happy about the film.   

In 2009, a source told the News of the World: ‘The Queen thought the film had a lot of good points but she is a stickler for accuracy. 

‘She wasn’t too impressed they had Albert diving in front of Victoria to take the bullet in an assassination attempt.

‘It simply did not happen and Her Majesty questioned the need for such a dramatic inaccuracy. 

‘She also thought the uniforms worn by the British officers looked too Germanic.’

After her acting debut, Beatrice took a paid internship at Sony Pictures Television in January 2014 but quit at the end of the year after the company was targeted by hackers.

Her salary, address and other confidential information was among a vast amount of material during the attack.

While the news of the princess’s film role came as a surprise, it was not the last time a member of the family made a surprise appearance on the screen.

It was reported that Prince William and Prince Harry had filmed a scene dressed as Stormtroopers in Star Wars: The Last Jedi – although the director later confirmed that their scene was cut.

The scene was reportedly filmed during their visit to the set in April 2016. 

The reason for its removal was that the princes, who are both quite tall (William at 6’3 and Harry at 6’1), were considered too tall to play Stormtroopers, who are traditionally 5’11.

King Charles performed in the famous Footlights sketch troupe while he was at Cambridge and Prince Edward was involved in the Light Entertainment Society while at university.

Charles’s stint in the Cambridge Footlights would later be echoed by comedy greats including Peter Cook, Stephen Fry and Sacha Baron Cohen.

One performance, in which he appeared wearing a rubbish bin, was titled Scoop and was inspired by his experience of being woken up by a dustman singing the Christmas hymn O Come All Ye Faithful while doing his morning rounds.

Bea’s cousin, the eldest child of Prince Edward and Duchess Sophie, Lady Louise Windsor, has performed in plays while studying at St Andrews. 

Lady Louise is believed to ‘adore acting’ and has joined the St Andrews Mermaids – which oversees student theatre productions.

She is rumoured to have met her boyfriend Felix da Silva-Clamp while appearing on stage. 

Even the Queen has had her share of acting cameos. 

There are reports that the Queen and her sister Princess Margaret enjoyed acting together as children and young adults.

They spent summers at Balmoral Castle, where they would create their own entertainment, and developed a playful and mischievous side, particularly enjoying impressions.

Reports suggest they would often perform plays and sketches for each other and their family.

The Queen’s acting debut was a pre-recorded short film for the 2012 London Olympics opening ceremony, where she appeared alongside Daniel Craig as James Bond.

Royal author Valentine Low wrote in his 2022 book Courtiers: ‘At the opening ceremony, the Queen starred in a memorable film made by director Danny Boyle, in which she welcomed James Bond – as played by Daniel Craig – to Buckingham Palace, and then appeared to parachute from a helicopter into the stadium in time for the opening.

‘It was an audacious stunt, and showed a side of the Queen most people had not seen before.’

The scene featured her greeting James Bond in her study at Buckingham Palace and then departing with him in a helicopter.

This was followed by a sequence where both were shown parachuting into the Olympic Stadium.

Boyle said the Queen delivered her lines ‘beautifully’ and had the ‘instincts of a performer’ as she is, after all, ‘on stage’ all the time. 

According to royal author Tina Brown, the late Queen had a heartwarming reason for taking on the unexpected role.

‘She thought it would be a great joke to amuse her grandchildren,’ Brown wrote in her book, Palace Papers.

In the final months of her life, Her Majesty delighted audiences at the televised BBC’s Platinum Party at the Palace after kicking off the festivities with an appearance alongside the fictional character Paddington Bear – in which they both enjoyed a chaotic cream tea at ‘Buckingham Palace’.

Paddington and the Queen were pictured sitting opposite each other in ornate chairs at a table laid for afternoon tea in an opulent room.

Accident-prone Paddington caused mayhem by accidentally depriving the understanding sovereign of another cup of tea and spraying cream from a chocolate éclair over a Palace footman.

The Queen’s secret sketch was the result of months of planning, and saw the bear show the monarch how he ensured he always had his favourite treat on him by lifting up his red felt hat to reveal his marmalade snack.

Her Majesty responded by revealing ‘So do I’ before opening her bag and declaring: ‘I keep mine in here’, to show her very own ready-made supply of marmalade sandwiches.

The bear from deepest darkest Peru congratulated the Queen on her reign of 70 years, saying: ‘Happy Jubilee Ma’am. And thank you. For everything.’ The modest Queen replied: ‘That’s very kind.’

Filmed at Windsor Castle, the Queen spent around half a day filming the secretly-pre-recorded humorous two-and-a-half-minute sequence, according to The Telegraph, and the comic sketch was a surprise even to some of her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren watching the scenes.

While it’s hard to imagine King Charles alongside Paddington Bear, it seems that royal cameos have become more common – and we could expect to see them take on starring roles in the future.