Dawn French reveals X-rated joke to King Charles

Dawn French leaving BBC Radio 2 Studios on October 13. Photo: Getty Images

Dawn French has spoken about the moment she went completely “over the line” when chatting to King Charles III at a royal function.

The actress and comedian, 66, confessed she has a “bit of a fancy” for his Royal Highness, 75, and let slip that she wanted to show the royal her beaver.

Queen Camilla and King Charles. Photo: Getty Images

While talking about her new book, The Twat Files, on the Chris Evans Breakfast Show on Virgin Radio, French recounted her embarrassing moment with the then-prince, the Daily Mail has reported.

She said: “I was in one of the Narnia films. And I played Mrs Beaver, opposite Ray Winstone, playing Mr Beaver, and we went to the royal premiere.

“I was quite excited about meeting Charlie, because I’ve got a bit of fancy for him. I’d like to ruffle his hair on a Sunday morning. You know, that kind of fancy.

“Anyway, he was coming down the line, greeting everybody. And he started it, I have to say.

“He started it because he had been to see A Midsummer Night’s Dream that I was in. And he said to me, ‘Well, the last time I saw you, I saw your Bottom’, referring to the character Bottom in Midsummer Night’s Dream, that I played.

“And I thought, ‘Right, we’re off’. And I said, ‘Tonight, Sir, you will see my Beaver!’ And then I did lots of over-laughing. And he very quickly moved on.’

Dawn French's book The Twat Files. Photo: Instagram

She continued: “There was the line, and then French had gone over the line. And I was so busy gulping, and I heard Ray Winstone, of all people, make that noise, like, ‘Urghh’, next to me.

“Even he knew that I was about to be beheaded.”

However, that wasn’t the last word for French, for she admitted to “putting her foot in it” again.

“As Prince Charles, as he then was, moved down the line quickly, I was looking at him, regretting everything, and I heard a noise in my ear, going, ‘Dawn, Dawn’.

“And I went, ‘YES, YES, YES, WHAT?’, and it was Camilla! And I went, ‘Oh, sorry, sorry, I was just telling him about my Beaver. No, sorry. Sorry.’

“Everything just went wrong. Everything went wrong. But that’s me. See a royal and I just put my foot in it.”

French went on to recount the time she attended the Women of the Year lunch with her good friend Jennifer Saunders where she had another royal encounter.

However, this time the actress met Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York and was “left dripping with humiliation about her own behaviour”.

She said: “Jennifer and I, we’ve got a respect for the royal family. Of course we have. But this is Sarah Ferguson, and a lot of years ago. I was saying to Jennifer, ‘I’m not going to do curtseying. I’m equal to this person. I’m never going to be doing anything like that’.

“She agreed. We’re not going to do that. Cut to the minute that Sarah Ferguson comes down the line. You’ve never seen more grovelly, obsequious genuflecting than from me. Something happened in my head. It’s like you immediately cave in.

“And I looked at Jennifer and thought, ‘Look what’s happened to me, this isn’t gonna happen to you,’ and then cut to her doing it. You leave dripping with humiliation about your own behaviour. You don’t even know why you’ve done it.”