Kunal Nayyar thought his invite to Queen Elizabeth’s reception to mark the UK-India Year of Culture 2017 was a joke at first.
The 35-year-old actor was honoured to attend the star-studded bash on Monday night (27.02.17) at Buckingham Palace in London, which saw members of the royal family including Prince William and Duchess Catherine, Prince Charles and Prince Philip in attendance.
However, he has revealed that when he received his invitation via email, he thought it was his friends pranking around with him, but once he realised it was the real deal he was "overwhelmed" with joy.
According to MailOnline, he said a the event: "It was overwhelming. I got an email in my personal inbox and at first I thought it was one of my friends spamming me. I replied and it turned out to be real. It’s incredible.
"The evening has just been overwhelming as I got to meet the Queen and to promote UK-Indian culture, which gives me so much pride."
The ‘Big Bang Theory’ star – who has played Rajesh Koothrappali in the US sitcom since it began in 2007 – also revealed he blushed as the 90-year-old monarch told him they’d met before, although they hadn’t.
Recalling speaking with Her Majesty, Kunal – who attended the bash with his wife Neha Kapur – said: "I did get to speak to the Queen and she said how nice it was to meet me again.
"I haven’t actually met her before so maybe she was confused or has just watched ‘The Big Bang Theory’! I just shook her hand, bowed my head and said thank you so much for inviting us."
He also praised Elizabeth for her work world wide helping "build relations" between each country and he also praised the royal family for the "remarkable" work they do.
He added: "The Queen is the Queen and has done such wonderful for communities all over the world.
"It’s not just the aura, it is what she has done for trade, building bridges, building relations.
"It can get lost sometimes in gossip magazines but the truth is that the good they do is remarkable. It is not just pomp and circumstances."
Kunal Nayyar thought invite to Buckingham Palace was a joke
