Queen Elizabeth II And Marilyn Monroe Met During ‘The Battle of the River Plate’ Premiere; British Royal Was Coronated 63 Years Ago

Queen Elizabeth II met legendary Hollywood actress Marilyn Monroe during the premiere of the latter’s film “The Battle of the River Plate” on Oct. 29, 1956. Both are icons and both celebrated their milestone 90th birthday this year. The queen’s birthday was on April 21, while the actress would have turned 90 on Wednesday.

Elizabeth as well as Monroe was just 30 when they met in London almost over 60 years ago. Britain’s longest-reigning monarch had ascended to the throne at the age of 25 following the death of her father, King George VI. Monroe had just finished filming “The Prince and the Showgirl” in London, which premiered in June 1957.

It was the only time the British royal and the American icon ever met. Monroe unfortunately died tragically in 1962 at the age of 36 years in Los Angeles. The top-billed Hollywood star was found dead in her bed, from a barbiturate overdose.

Her funeral was held in August at the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery, where she was placed in her grave at the Corridor of Memories. Meanwhile, a rare footage of the nonagenarian royal and the movie star has been released on the occasion of the latter’s 90th birthday.

The video shows Elizabeth greeting Monroe at a film premiere in London’s Leicester Square on Oct. 29, 1956. She accompanied her then husband Arthur Miller. The video shows the actress waiting in the receiving line of guests to shake hands with the young queen.

Meanwhile, Thursday was the 63rd anniversary of the queen’s coronation. Elizabeth was crowned on June 2, 1953. She has served more than 23,000 days. Around three million people lined the streets to witness the 27-year-old queen make her way from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey to be crowned. Hers was the first British coronation to be televised and was watched by millions of people in Britain and around the world.

On the occasion Buckingham Palace took to Twitter to wish the queen.