Strictly Come Dancing ’s head judge Shirley Ballas has opened up about a surprise royal visit to the set of the iconic dance show last December, when Prince Louis made an adorable request to the stars.
The young royal, six, made the spontaneous trip last year with mum Kate Middleton, 42 and big sister Princess Charlotte, eight, as the trio headed to Elstree studios in Hertfordshire to get a behind the scenes look at how the show was made.
During the visit, the royals were able to get a first hand taste of life on set, as they each took a turn at playing judges during the tour under the watchful eye of Shirley herself. In addition, the family were also presented with gifts as a special keepsake from their visit.
Speaking to The Sun, Shirley said: “They are beautiful. When they visited we had these crowns on set, so I thought it would be a nice idea to give the little girl a crown and I got him a nice box of sweets.”
Like most things in show business the gift giving didn’t go entirely to plan, as despite his gratitude at receiving an ample supply of sweets, Louis was far more entranced by his sister’s crown and wanted to have one of his very own.
She continued: “He went, 'I want one of those' and pointed at the crown. So we had to go and find him a little crown. They’re beautifully polite children. They had an absolute ball.”
Louis’ adorable request comes after it was revealed that Kate and husband Prince William are huge fans of the show and regularly sit down to watch the episodes every autumn with their children, as another batch of famous faces are paired with dance professionals.
It isn’t just Shirley’s Strictly credentials that have earned her the royal seal of approval either, as the star also went on to admit that Queen Camilla was a huge fan of her debut novel Murder on the Dance Floor, which hit bookshelves last year. Following the release of the novel, which is the first instalment in her ongoing series, The Sequin Mysteries, Shirley revealed that the royal had sent her a gushing note congratulating her on the book, which the dance expert had subsequently had framed!
Camilla also has a special connection to Strictly Come Dancing too, with the Queen Consort having been an avid watcher of the series for many years, and even proudly told 2021 winner Rose Ayling Ellis that she had voted for her to win!
She also helped bring the nation together with a motivational message to the stars in 2020, when the country was caught in the grips of the pandemic. Speaking at the time, Camilla said: “It's lifted the whole country's spirits. I'd like, on behalf of everybody who watches Strictly, to say an enormous thank you to everybody who's been involved in this production in this particularly difficult year.”
