Dawn French reveals VERY awkward encounter with Princess Margaret and the comment she made that 'reduced me to a heap'

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Dawn French has recalled an excruciating encounter with Princess Margaret while dressed as a comedy ballerina, complete with fake swan.

The comedian, 66, was performing at a fundraiser at the Royal Opera House alongside her creative partner Jennifer Saunders — plus legendary ballerinas Viviana Durante, Sylvie Guillem and Darcey Bussell.

Afterwards, she told the Titting About podcast: 'We were told, 'Stay on the stage, because Princess Margaret is going to come and greet you all.'

'I'm standing in the swan costume... black tights, huge black flippers. I've got a swan wrapped round me. 

'And I've got silly pink ballet legs going from my tutu... those are the fake legs... and I'm holding the head of the swan with reins. 

Dawn French has recalled an excruciating encounter with Princess Margaret while dressed as a comedy ballerina, complete with fake swan (pictured in October 2023) 

The comedian, 66, was performing at a fundraiser at the Royal Opera House alongside her creative partner Jennifer Saunders when she crossed paths with Margaret (pictured in 1990)

'She got to me and she looked at me. I thought she was going to kiss my cheek. Instead she said two words that reduced me to a heap. She just went: 'How brave.' '

Princess Margaret died in February 2002 aged 71 after suffering her fourth stroke.

It comes after Dawn said cancel culture has 'forced people into a corner' and has made people cowardly because it has 'wiped out any margin for error'.

The Vicar of Dibley star revealed she resented being recently told to 'catch up' in the trans controversy surrounding JK Rowling.

Dawn said it was 'very powerful' to be able to use the phrase 'I don't know' and urged the younger generation to get a better understanding.

She went on to argue that cancel culture had 'wiped out any margin for error' by forcing people 'into corners'.

Speaking on the Happy Place podcast, Dawn said: 'We're all talking about inclusivity and favouring difference and all the rest of it.

'And that's all great, I love the idea of that, but that's not how we're living.

Dawn said: 'I'm standing in the swan costume... black tights, huge black flippers. I've got a swan wrapped round me' (pictured in April 2024) 

She added: '[Margaret] got to me and she looked at me. I thought she was going to kiss my cheek. Instead she said two words that reduced me to a heap. She just went: 'How brave' '

'We're living the opposite of that - we're massively intolerant, quick to blame, litigation, trolling and all of this dreadful stuff which has got nothing to do with understanding how other human beings operate.

'We are people who know we make mistakes, we know we have shortcomings, we know we have all this stuff but because we are expected to present ourselves as perfect and only celebrate all the perfect things it just wiped out any margin for error.'

Dawn went on to say how a robust debate was the 'best thing in the world'.

She added: 'But it's impossible if what we've got to do is hunker back into our positions, defend them by spitting and being furious and then blaming and cancelling.

'I genuinely think we're being forced into corners where I can smell my own cowardice.

'I don't like that - I've never been cowardly, I hope, but I'm starting to be that because I'm being circumspect about what I will support or not in case it causes trouble.

'You know, and even thinking about the timing of when I might say such a thing, or what might be cherry-picked out of this and lambasted against me.'

The actress went on to say: 'As women especially - that's the last thing we should do is shut up.

'Or put baby in the corner. We shouldn't be back in the corner and yet I am in the corner, and I really dislike it about myself and about this cultural malaise, where I just think, I'd like to support that person in what they just said there.

It comes after Dawn said cancel culture has 'forced people into a corner' and has made people cowardly because it has 'wiped out any margin for error' (pictured in February 2023)

'Oh, that's going to be taken wrong, because there's a whole gang of people that don't like this person. Then I'm going to be in their gang, and they wouldn't like me in that gang.

'And also, can I be bothered with the huge maelstrom that will come.

'It's awful, how has it happened? How have people given their lives so we could vote, done so many things to push forward and now we're in this place.

'It's ludicrous. I don't know how to unpick it.'

Dawn said she had recently done a podcast with somebody who told her after the recording that they weren't talking about J.K. Rowling.

The Harry Potter author has voiced controversial opinions on the issue of transgender identity and rights.

'And I went, 'oh, okay', because I know JK a bit,' she said.

'And she said 'yeah, because she used this terminology and we're not doing that, it's unacceptable'.

'I said, oh, oh, I don't even know that term. What is that? And she went, you need to catch up, Dawn.

'You need to catch up - people can't be constantly teaching you how to be because this is not okay, and you need to catch up.

'And I left it thinking, okay, do I need to catch up? Is that right?

'I do need to catch up. And that is true, but I also need to be taught - I need to learn.'

On using the term 'I don't know', she said: 'It's very powerful to say that, especially when you don't know. That's better than pretending you do know.

'It's certainly better than forming an opinion about something you don't know.

'And I'm just saying, please, especially you younger folk, please inform me and explain this to me so that I can understand it and not make this mistake again. But don't tell me to catch up.'