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Lily Collins Recalls Meeting Princess Diana as a Toddler (& the Shocking Way She Challenged the Royal)

It turns out that Lily Collins was having run-ins with royalty long before she ever played Snow White.

The 32-year-old actress recently visited The Late Late Show with James Corden to promote the second season of her hit Netflix series Emily in Paris. While there, Corden pulled out a rare photo that shows a toddler-aged Collins handing a bouquet of flowers to Princess Diana.

While Collins doesn't exactly remember the moment, she recounted the story, which has been told many times amongst her family. “I've been told this is what happened,” she said. The actress then pointed to the photo and said, “That's my mom and my dad and I, and it's at a Prince's Trust event.”

Collins detailed the comical moment that was pictured, saying, “I am giving Diana flowers, but the second that 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.”

However, the meeting didn't end poorly. Collins noted, “I mean—but then again, I was wearing a cute dress, so who's gonna really punish me there?”

But apparently this wasn't the only tussle Collins had with a royal family member as a toddler. She followed up with another story, saying, “I was also told that when I was younger, I was playing with some toys with Prince Charles, and I proceeded to kind of, like, throw something at him. Like throw a toy telephone at his head.” She laughed and added, “Which, again, all the air was sucked out of the room.”

If you're like us and you're wondering how Collins spent so much time with the royal family, the actress explained this connection, saying that her father, Phil Collins (known for his work with the band Genesis), was affiliated with the royal youth charity, The Prince's Trust. “I just went along for the ride, and I guess I had a tendency to do naughty things as a 2-year-old,” Collins said.

We hope you get an invite to return to Buckingham Palace, Lily.

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calfee

Associate Editor, News and Entertainment

Joel is the Associate Editor for News & Entertainment and has been reporting on all things pop culture for over 5 years. Before working at PureWow, he served as a Features...