Miranda Hart has confessed to feeling humiliated when she accidentally found herself flirting with Prince Harry at Buckingham Palace.

The 42-year-old Miranda star explained how a joke she made to the Prince backfired when he apparently took her seriously.

She told Graham Norton: “I hosted a bit of the Jubilee concert and at a party at Buckingham Palace afterwards I said to Harry, ‘I am sorry about the silly flirting jokes I did about you.’

Rupert Everett, Miranda Hart and Clive Davies
Miranda Hart, Rupert Everett and Clive Davies are the latest stars on Graham Norton’s sofa (Matt Crossick/PA)

“He said, ‘That’s fine, but it’s a shame there isn’t music and dancing here because we could dance and start a rumour.’ He was being really sweet and endearing and I said, as a joke, but way too dryly so he thought I was being serious, ‘I can hear music.’

“And he just went. He was gone before I could say it was a joke. It was so awful and so embarrassing.”

The comedy star gained a legion of fans starring in hit BBC sitcom Miranda, which ended on New Year’s Day this year after three series, and saw her play a fictional version of herself, constantly falling over and embarrassing herself. But the funny woman admitted the show’s success did have its drawbacks.

“You can’t begrudge the fame thing, but it is weird and I don’t love it,” she admitted.

Graham Norton and guests
Graham Norton with his guests (Matt Crossick/PA)

“I get a variety of reactions like someone singing What Have You Done To Make Yourself Proud too loudly and for too long at me in a shop. I don’t know how to respond and it creates some awkward moments.”

Miranda is about to appear on the big screen alongside Melissa McCarthy and Jude Law in new US comedy Spy, but doesn’t see herself moving to Hollywood full time.

She said: “I would love the opportunity to go out there for a few months and potter about on a film set and do the odd scene. That would be lovely and I’m yet to achieve my dream of doing a scene with Matthew Perry but I don’t see myself moving there.”

The Graham Norton Show is on BBC One at 10.40pm tonight.