Dame Joan Collins has praised the “civility” of Prince Louis and Princess Charlotte after clumsily forgetting royal protocol during a platinum anniversary celebration.
The 90-year-old Dynasty actress details her encounter with members of the royal family in her new memoir Behind the Shoulder Pads: Takes I Tell My Friends.
The star – who received an OBE in 1997 – was made a Dame by the late Queen in 2015 in recognition of her charity work.
As a result, Joan was invited to join the motorcade along The Mall for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in June 2022.
She was joined by Prue Leith from the Great British Bake Off and former model Twiggy for the ‘Ladies in their Jags’ portion of the pageant.
Pictured: Actors Joan Collins and Richard E Grant speak to the Princess of Wales at the Dramatic Arts reception at Buckingham Palace in February 2014
After driving along London’s famous road in a vintage car with her husband Percy Gibson, the star was greeted by members of the royal family.
She explained: ‘We eventually arrived outside the Royal Box, which was packed with royals and relatives of the Queen.
“As we descended from the Jaguar, trying to look presentable after two hours in the freezing wind, Princess Beatrice and her husband Edoardo waved excitedly at us.”
The star said King Charles – who was the Prince of Wales at the time – also smiled and waved at them after Princess Anne alerted them to the actress’s presence.
After this, the actress enjoyed a cup of tea in the private room behind the Royal Box built next to Buckingham Palace.
After ‘falling into’ the sofa, Joan said she came in with her two eldest children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte.
Recounting their conversation, the actress said the Princess of Wales greeted her “love” by name and extended her hand for a handshake.
Surprised by the unexpected arrival of the princess, Joan completely forgot the usual protocol for greeting a member of the royal family.
The Prince and Princess of Wales with Prince Louis and Princess Charlotte at the Trooping the Color celebrations in June
Pictured: Joan Collins and husband Percy Gibson during the ‘Ladies in their Jags’ portion of the pageant last year
She wrote: ‘Hello ma’am,’ I swallowed and forgot to bow.’
Joan recalled how the princess – who was a “vision in a red dress” that day – then introduced Charlotte and Louis by their first names.
Praising the children’s excellent manners, Joan added: ‘Both little people politely extended their little hands for a handshake.’
The next day, Prince Louis delighted fans with his highly animated performance at the Platinum Jubilee concert, where artists including Queen, Elbow and Lin-Manuel Miranda performed outside Buckingham Palace.
During the show, Louis was seen clenching his fists, sticking out his tongue, waving his arms in the air, putting his hands over his mother’s mouth and standing on his seat to get a better view of the spectacle.
Prince Louis delighted royal fans with his highly animated performance at the Platinum Jubilee concert last June
In an interview with the Mail on Sunday last month, the veteran actress – who will play Wallis Simpson in an upcoming biopic – was full of praise for the Princess of Wales.
“Catherine never puts a foot wrong,” she said. “Meghan isn’t really in my consciousness.”
Elsewhere in her memoir, Joan reportedly calls out Harry Styles after an incident that took place at the 2019 Met Gala.
According to the icon, the brawl took place as the singer, 29, continued to dance and sing along to Cher, 77, who was performing on stage at the fashion event.
She recalled that it was her first time attending the big soirée and Harry kept blocking her view during Cher’s performance.
In her book she wrote: ‘Harry Styles jumped onto the table in front of us (those sitting on her table), obscuring our view, and ignored our pleas to ‘get down, we can’t see.’ ‘