When Queen Elizabeth II met Marilyn Monroe-Tori Brazier-Entertainment – Metro

The two iconic women met just once in their lives (Picture: Rex/Shutterstock/Mirrorpix/Ulstein Bild/Getty)

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, who died on Thursday at the age of 96, met very many famous figures over the course of her 70-year reign.

From US presidents and leaders of countries to sporting greats and cultural icons, the monarch shook countless hands, many of whom have rushed to pay tribute following her death.

However, one that’s hard to match in terms of glamour and stardom is actress Marilyn Monroe.

The Hollywood icon, who was 36 when she died in 1962, was one of the most popular cinematic stars of her day after appearances in films including Some Like it Hot, The Seven Year Itch and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.

However, her shocking death sealed her legacy in movie mythology and as an enduring figure in pop culture.

As Monroe was soaring to the dizzying heights of her career in Hollywood, she was introduced to the still relatively new Queen Elizabeth in London in 1956.

Actress Monroe waits nervously in the receiving line to meet the young Queen (Picture: Harry Myers/REX/Shutterstock)

She performed a curtsey as the two were formally introduced (Picture: Harry Myers/REX/Shutterstock)

What makes their one-time meeting even more extraordinary is the fact that these two women, who were poles apart in their upbringing – one in disruption and hardship in California and the other in wealth and privilege in London – were not only linked by worldwide fame, but also by age.

Both women were born in 1926, with the Queen born on April 21 and Monroe arriving just weeks later on June 1.

If she were still living today, Monroe would also be 96, the same age at which Her Majesty died on September 8 at Balmoral Castle in Scotland, surrounded by her family.

In the last picture of Queen Elizabeth II, she invited new Conservative Party leader Liz Truss to form a government, thus officially becoming Prime Minister (Picture: PA)

Monroe was born just weeks after the Queen and would have been 96 in 2022 as well (Picture: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty)

Their meeting occurred on October 29, 1956, at the premiere for The Battle of the River Plate at the Odeon cinema in London’s Leicester Square.

Not a movie of Monroe’s, the actress was there to support her then-husband, celebrated playwright Arthur Miller.

The Michael Powell and Eric Pressburger project was selected as the year’s Royal Film Performance, with both the Queen and Princess Margaret in attendance.

Rare footage of the event was captured, with Monroe in the receiving line among the likes of actors Victor Mature and John Gregson who flanked her.

The Seven Year Itch star was flanked by actors including Anthony Quayle, Victor Mature and Charles Coburn as she met the monarch (Picture: Cci/REX/Shutterstock)

The pair exchanged a few words, although there is no official record of what was said (Picture: Daily Herald/Mirrorpix/Mirrorpix via Getty)

Looking a little nervous, and standing with her arms by her side, the performer patiently waited to be introduced to the Queen with the duo then smiling at one another as Elizabeth initiated the handshake and Monroe neatly curtsied.

A few words were exchanged as the Hollywood actress seemed to respond to a few questions of the Queen’s, smiling as they spoke.

The Queen was dressed in a dark gown with A-line skirt and white elbow-length gloves, while Monroe opted for a closer-fitting dress with a metallic sheen and gloves of her own.

At the time, Asphalt Jungle star Monroe had just completed shooting on The Prince and the Showgirl in London opposite Laurence Olivier, a famously fraught affair due to Monroe’s erratic behaviour and the clash between her and Olivier’s acting styles.

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Reality star Kardashian and film star Monroe in the same dress, 60 years apart (Picture: AP/Reuters/Getty)

Monroe was recently brought back into the public eye through Kim Kardashian, who wore the historic embellished nude dress – the one in which the movie star serenaded President John F Kennedy for his birthday in 1962 – to the Met Gala in May.

The gown sold for $4.8million (£4.17m) at Julien’s Auctions in 2016, before later acquired by Ripley’s Believe It Or Not Museum, who loaned it to Kardashian for the evening, under the careful eye of curators.

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