Queen Elizabeth II visits the Game of Thrones set in Northern Ireland
Currently on a tour of Northern Ireland, Queen Elizabeth II visited the set of Game of Thrones in Belfast today. Joined by Prince Philip, the Queen toured the Paint Hall and met with many of the show’s cast and crew.
Co-creators David Benioff and David Weiss acted as escort to the monarch, starting with the show’s custom-made weaponry and costumes. The Queen took her time to look over the show’s props, and the interior set of the Red Keep.
The tour ended in the iconic throne room, where she met with actors Maisie Williams, Sophie Turner, Kit Harington, Rose Leslie, Lena Headey, and Conleth Hill.
After chatting with the cast, the Queen approached the Iron Throne, and although she did take a moment to admire its design, she declined the opportunity to take a seat. Maisie Williams revealed, “She kept commenting on how uncomfortable the throne looked, that was funny.”
As the royal tour concluded, the Queen was given a miniature Iron Throne as a souvenir to mark her visit. There was no comment on whether or not the Queen or Prince Philip are fans of the series, but a spokeswoman commented that they were “interested to see the impact the filming has had on the local economy and the local skills and crafts that make the show”.
Game of Thrones has been a boon to the local economy for the past five years, contributing millions of dollars, numerous jobs, and encouraging tourism to the region.
The cast was left quite overwhelmed by the royal visit. Lena Headey said, “I don’t think I’ve ever been as nervous to meet anybody. I didn’t think I was, and then I saw her appear and I suddenly thought, ‘it’s the Queen, the real Queen.
She was really cool and gorgeous and delightful.
I think of everything she has done and everything she has achieved and the fact she is still interested even though she has met countless people and talked about numerous things.”
Conleth Hill had met the Queen previously, “She didn’t remember me but that’s fine. She was lovely, very interested, inclusive of all of us.”
Kit Harington also shared his thoughts on the meeting, “Being here and meeting the Queen, it’s pretty amazing that the show has done that and she has come to see the sets. It gives it some sense of scale.
She is an incredible person. She has an incredible presence about her. To meet someone who has been on the throne as long as she has and has seen the things she has, it’s quite an experience.”
The royal visit lasted just over half an hour, and Sky News covered it in its entirety in the video below, with the royals arriving at around the 22 minute mark.
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