Things are looking pretty rubbish for the Queen right now but I have some news that will cheer her up – sort of. The Sun has revealed that the unlikely duo of Dame Helen Mirren, who once played the monarch in a film, and Damian Lewis are teaming up for an album to celebrate Her Majesty’s 95th birthday next month. The actors are making the record with composer Debbie Wiseman and Decca Records, and it will be called The Music Of Kings & Queens. An industry insider said: “Helen and Damian are quite good pals and have a mutual love and respect for the Queen. “They felt it was a very significant birthday and achievement for her to reach 95, so they wanted to do it in a special way. It’s come at a good time and they are hoping it will bring a smile to her face.” Helen won an Oscar for her performance as Elizabeth II in 2006 film The Queen, and three years earlier Prince Charles made her a dame during a ceremony at Buckingham Palace. She did eventually meet Her Majesty in 2014 and five years later was invited to an intimate tea, where she had a “lesson in embarrassment” because she forgot how to address Prince Philip. Damian also has blue blood connections. He played Henry VIII in BBC drama Wolf Hall and his ancestor is The 1st Viscount Dawson of Penn, who was a doctor to the Royal Family in the early 20th Century. Helen, meanwhile, claims to have none. She has said of her brief stint playing the piano: “It was a disaster. It must have been heartbreaking for my poor father to realise that his only daughter had no musical talent.” If, at 95, The Queen is hard of hearing, that won’t be such a bad thing.

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