Tony Blair feared the Queen would be killed by a flying acrobat at the Millennium Dome’s New Year’s Eve party, a new documentary reveals
- Tony Blair had a “terrible feeling” and “kind of fear,” the documentary says
Tony Blair feared the Queen would be killed by a flying acrobat that fell on her after inviting her to a New Year’s Eve party at the Millennium Dome, a new documentary reveals.
The ITVX documentary hears Mr Blair was surprised the Queen accepted the invitation even in 1999, describing how trapeze artists flew above the then Labor Prime Minister, the late monarch and husband Prince Philip.
Anji Hunter, Director of Government Relations at the time, claimed that Blair had a “terrible feeling” and “some sort of dread” going into the evening’s festivities.
She claimed Prince Philip — as acrobats were “literally swinging overhead” — told Mr Blair, “Look, they don’t have any safety wires.”
“Suddenly he had a vision that one was going to fall on the queen and the headlines the next day were ‘Queen killed by flying acrobat’,” said Ms Hunter.
Queen Elizabeth II joins Prime Minister Tony Blair and wife Cherie in singing ‘Auld Lang Syne’ during midnight celebrations to welcome the New Year at the Millennium Dome
Queen Elizabeth II and then British Prime Minister Tony Blair imagined raising their glasses as midnight strikes in 2000
Dancers at the Millennium Dome perform a aerial ballet during celebrations to ring in the New Year, in Greenwich, South East London
She also noted that the Prime Minister was “surprised” that Her Majesty had even accepted his invitation to the New Year’s Eve party and claimed at one point, after seeing them interact, thought “they don’t want to be here” and felt ” so sorry for them’.
A photo shows the late Queen singing “Auld Lang Syne” with then Prime Minister Tony Blair and his wife Cherie during midnight celebrations to ring in the new year.
The then Duke of Edinburgh was also pictured kissing the Queen during the late-night celebrations at the Millennium Dome in London’s Greenwich, now called the O2 Arena.
Another photo shows the Queen and Mr Blair raising a glass as the clock strikes midnight.
Queen Elizabeth II died ‘peacefully’ in Balmoral in September at the age of 96 after a historic reign of 70 years.
All of Her Majesty’s children had been rushed to Balmoral after doctors became ‘concerned’ about her health. She died hours later, surrounded by her family.
The Queen’s death saw Britain and her Commonwealth realms enter a ten-day period of mourning as millions of her subjects in the UK and abroad came to terms with her passing.
Prince Philip kisses Queen Elizabeth during the New Year’s Eve party
Acrobats during rehearsals at the Millennium Dome on December 30, 1999
The Millennium Dome in Greenwich – now known as the O2 Arena
All episodes of The Real Crown: Inside the House of Windsor can be streamed exclusively on ITVX