Queen Elizabeth II has welcomed a dozen Prime Ministers from the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand; she’s met nearly every American President of her reign; she meets the movers and the shakers of the arts, politics, science worlds—but has there been a more iconic meeting than when The Queen met Marilyn Monroe, the queen of mid-century Hollywood?
In October 1956, only four years into her reign, The Queen came face-to-face with Hollywood royalty at the premiere of The Battle of The River Plate at the Empire Theatre at Leicester Square in London.
In town with her then-husband, playwright Arthur Miller, Marilyn Monroe was in the midst of filming The Prince and the Showgirl with Sir Laurence Olivier (an experience, and a leading man, she’d come to loathe) when they decided to attend the Royal Film Performance on 26 October.
In a book about Marilyn’s time in London for the fraught film shoot, author Michelle Morgan wrote, “Marilyn found herself torn between settling into married life, being a curiosity for the frequently hostile British press, and her work on The Prince and the Showgirl. She took solace in small acts of kindness from members of the public, and a new fascination with Queen Elizabeth.
“Marilyn made a point of adopting some of the Queen’s favourite brands, buying gloves from Cornelia James, perfume from Floris, and switching from Chanel No. 5 to Yardley’s Lavender. Marilyn made a point of asking the film’s PR manager to add a royal meeting to her schedule, but each day Olivier would delete the request.”
Marilyn had arrived in London in July 1956 and set up residence at Parkside House, a mansion in Surrey. When she met The Queen, she reportedly spoke about how the two were ‘neighbours’ in Windsor Great Park; both women were 30 years old at the time of their meeting.
Much was written about Marilyn Monroe’s dress at the Royal Film Performance—a gold lame evening gown with spaghetti straps a slinky skirt—and how uncouth it was to wear in front of The Queen. It has since gone up for auction and remains, like the white dress worn in The Seven Year Itch or the hot pink gown from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, an iconic part of the star’s wardrobe.
