Shirley Ballas spoke 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 accompanied by her two youngest children on a ‘secret visit’ to Elstree Studios in Hertfordshire in December 2023.
The royal is said to have had a sneak peek of the show and took turns acting as a judge during the tour.
speaking to SunStrictly head judge Shirley, 63, revealed how the team had prepared gifts 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 good idea to give the little girl a crown and bought her a nice box of sweets.’
Pictured: Shirley Ballas at the Pride of Britain Awards in October 2023, two months before the royals’ Strictly Come Dancing studio tour.
However, Shirley said things didn’t go as planned as Louis put a shine on his sister’s gift.
She continued: ‘He said, “I want one of those” and pointed to the crown.
‘So we had to go get him a little crown. They are wonderfully educated children. They had a great time.
The judge went on to explain how Kate and William watch the show with the children and posed for photos 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 installment 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 framed.
At the time, it was reported that the royal was given a tour of the wardrobe department and Louis tried on a small gold crown while standing on the balcony where the contestants gather on the dance floor.
A source said Sun: ‘Kate and Charlotte are big fans of Strictly, so they were delighted to be invited.
The Princess of Wales, 42, was accompanied by her two youngest children on a ‘secret visit’ to Elstree Studios in Hertfordshire in December 2023.
‘Kate took pictures of the children in the judges’ seats. She seemed very relaxed and was all smiles.
“She was polite, sweet and charming to everyone and made sure Louis didn’t get too emotional.”
Due to the high-profile visit, the publication reports that a strict security lockdown was imposed on the set and no one was allowed to take photographs.
The source also revealed that the children were thrilled to be there and loved dressing up and meeting their favorite celebrities.
King Charles, 75, and Queen Camilla, 76, are also big fans of the show, as is the late queen.
In 2022, Camilla met 2021 Strictly champion Rose Ayling-Ellis, 29, on the set of EastEnders and told her she had voted for her.
In 2020, with the nation in the grip of the pandemic, he recorded two messages for the final.
She said: ‘It has lifted the spirits of the whole country. I would like, on behalf of everyone who watches Strictly, to say a huge thank you to everyone who has been involved in this production in this particularly difficult year.’
