Fans of Lily Collins’ role in Emily In Paris may recall her often ringarde, cringe-worthy moments that are enough to make your skin crawl in discomfort.
But it turns out that Collins herself has not only fallen prey to an uncomfortable situation or two in real life, but she has done so in the company of royals.
In an interview on The Late Late Show with James Corden, the 32-year-old opened up about a moment when she misbehaved as a toddler in front of none other than Princess Diana and Prince Charles.
When Corden shared a throwback photo of a young Collins with the late Princess, she explained that she was with her parents, musician Phil Collins and Jill Tavelman, at a Prince’s Trust event in the 1990s.
“I have been told that this is what happened,” she told the talk show host. “That’s my mum and my dad and I, and it’s a Prince’s Trust event and I’m giving Diana flowers, but the second she went to take them, I then tried to pull them back.”
“So, as you can imagine, all the air was sucked out of the room,” she explained. “But then again, I was wearing a cute dress, so who’s going to really punish me there?”
But the then-tiny Collins was far from finished with the royal family, adding that she had another embarrassing encounter, this time with Prince Charles.
“I was also told that when I was younger, I was playing with some toys with Prince Charles and I proceeded to kind of throw something at him, like, throw a toy telephone at his head. Which again, all the air was sucked out of the room.”
After Corden reacted aghast and in disbelief, Collins continued to explain that she had been two-years-old when the events took place and frequently spent time amongst the famous family.
“My dad did a lot of stuff for the Prince’s Trust, and I grew up in England, you know, I’m British,” she said, adding, “I just went along for the ride, and I guess I had a tendency to do naughty things as a two-year-old.”
Of course, Collins’ father is famous in his own right as the frontman for the band Genesis and boasting a very successful solo music career. The Emily In Paris star was born and raised in England until her parents split in 1995 and she moved to Los Angeles with her mother.
Next time Collins is in the company of royals, it’s probably best to keep all objects out of sight and out of mind.
