Shirley Ballas reveals Louis' hilarious request during Strictly tour
- Kate, Charlotte and Louis visited the Hertfordshire studio in December 2023
- Read More: Prince William shares Princess Charlotte’s favourite joke during surprise school visit and makes a jibe at comedian Jack Whitehall’s ‘dad jokes’
Shirley Ballas has opened up about Prince Louis’ hilarious request while touring the set of Strictly Come Dancing with the Princess of Wales and Prince Charlotte.
The Princess of Wales, 42, was joined by her two youngest children for a ‘secret visit’ to Elstree studios in Hertfordshire in December 2023.
The royals are said to have had a sneak peak of the show and took a turn at playing judges during the tour.
Speaking to The Sun, Strictly’s head judge Shirley, 63, revealed how the team had presents prepared for Princess Charlotte, eight, and Prince Louis, six.
She explained: ‘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.’
Pictured: Shirley Ballas at the Pride of Britain Awards in October 2023 – two months before the royals’ tour of the Strictly Come Dancing studio
However, Shirley said things didn’t quite go to plan – as Louis took a shining to his sister’s present.
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.’
The judge went on to explain how Kate and William watch the show with the children and they posed for pictures during the visit.
Elsewhere, the Strictly judge said Queen Camilla was a fan of her debut novel Murder on the Dance Floor, which is the first instalment of ‘The Sequin Mysteries’.
The star says the royal sent her a gushing note congratulating her on the publication of the book, which Shirley has since had framed.
At the time, it was reported the royals were given a tour of the costume department and Louis tried on a small gold crown as he stood on the balcony where the contestants gather above the dance floor.
A source told The Sun: ‘Kate and Charlotte are huge fans of Strictly so they were delighted to be invited.
The Princess of Wales, 42, was joined by her two youngest children for a ‘secret visit’ to Elstree studios in Hertfordshire in December 2023
‘Kate took pictures of the children in the judges’ seats. She seemed really relaxed and was all smiles.
‘She was polite, sweet and charming with everyone and made sure Louis didn’t get over-excited.’
Due to the high profile visit, the publication report a strict security lockdown was imposed on set and no one was allowed to take any photos.
The source also revealed the children were over the moon to be there and loved dressing up and meeting their favourite celebrities.
King Charles, 75, and Queen Camilla, 76, are also big fans of the show, as was the late Queen.
In 2022, Camilla met 2021 Strictly champ Rose Ayling-Ellis, 29, on the EastEnders set and told her she had voted for her.
In 2020, with the nation in the grip of the pandemic, she recorded two messages for the final.
She 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.’
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