Frank Skinner has opened up more about his cringey run-in with the Duchess of Edinburgh after the Royal Variety Performance in December and the ‘really love ly’ letter she sent him afterwards.
Radio host Frank, 66, had previously said Sophie was critical of his and David Baddiel’s performance of football anthem Three Lions at the Royal Albert Hall, reportedly telling him afterwards “don’t give up your day job”.
However, the comedian defended himself to the Royal, informing her he’d just performed at the Palladium after she questioned his experience in such a big venue.
Mentioning the ‘awkward’ exchange on his radio show shortly afterwards, the performer explained that Sophie had since reached out with a ‘classy’ and ‘love ly’ note, which made him ‘very pleased’.
Reflecting on how much the story had blown up, Frank named her his ‘favourite’ member of the Royal Family for how she had handled things in the aftermath.
Talking to stand-in host Ranvir Singh on Lorraine on Monday, he pointed out: ‘I never said that she apologised because I don’t think it’s right – if someone apologises to you, I don’t think you should tell other people.’
After recounting the affair, he added: ‘And then I got a Christmas card – and I have to say, she doesn’t need to send a note to someone like me – and it was handwritten, really love ly and polite.’
He jokingly continued: ‘And I thought, this is one of the greater things about the posh, is they know how to do manners.’
‘And I’m a big fan of hers now. She’s my favourite,’ he concluded, as he continued with his praise of the 58-year-old.
Ranvir then asked Frank if he’d ever sent a handwritten apology to his longstanding comedy partner David over their 30-year friendship, to which he admitted there had been a few ‘maybe I shouldn’t have said that Dave’-type texts – ‘but not many’, he clarified.
The Birmingham-born performer then revealed that their biggest argument to date had come while playing a game of Trivial Pursuit when he wouldn’t give David his piece of pie for answering ‘Antony and Cleopatra’ when the correct response was simply ‘Cleopatra’.
‘He stormed out and realised we were in his flat – so he stormed back in again,’ Frank recalled.
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First appear at Frank Skinner names his ‘favourite’ Royal after receiving grovelling apology over Royal Variety insult
