British actor Daniel Craig, who played James Bond in the cinema for fifteen years, received on Tuesday October 18 the same decoration as agent 007, from the hands of Princess Anne, sister of King Charles III.
rare honor
The 54-year-old actor, who donned the famous Her Majesty’s agent’s tuxedo in five feature films, from casino royale (2006) at Dying can wait (2021), was made a Companion of the Order of St. Michael and St. George, a rare honor bestowed by author Ian Fleming on his secret agent, portrayed for the first time on the big screen by Sean Connery in 1963 .
“We’ve been expecting you…”, tweeted the official account of the royal family, taking up one of the most famous replicas of the saga. A photo shows Daniel Craig bowing and smiling to Princess Anne, during a ceremony at Windsor Castle.
We’ve been expecting you…
️The Princess Royal presents Daniel Craig with The Order of St Michael and St George – the same honor held by his character James Bond – in recognition of his outstanding contribution to film and theatre. pic.twitter.com/X20TP6BogL
— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) October 18, 2022
Already in 2012, for the London Olympics, Queen Elizabeth II had shot a humorous video where James Bond, alias Daniel Craig, came to pick her up in Buckingham. The montage suggested that the sovereign, then 86 years old, boarded a helicopter before parachuting with the spy above the Olympic stadium.
Released late due to the Covid 19 pandemic in the fall of 2021, Dying can wait (No Time To Die), with the French Léa Seydoux for the second time as a James Bond girl, was a great success at the box office. 25th official opus of the legendary saga on the British spy, it also marked the last James Bond for Daniel Craig. On the occasion of his release, the Royal Navy had named the actor honorary commander, the same rank as his character.
The mystery remains on the next actor who will pronounce the famous sentence on the screen: “My name is Bond, James Bond”. To replace Daniel Craig, all options seem open. Could James Bond be embodied by the first black actor in the franchise, as some fans wish? Or could a woman swap the tuxedo for an evening dress, as suggested by Barbara Broccoli, the historical producer of the saga? By a playfulness of the scenario, the black actress Lashana Lynch embodied the agent 007 in the last opus. Premonitory?