Marilyn Monroe Once Broke Royal Protocol for Her Meeting With Late Queen Elizabeth

Legendary actress Marilyn Monroe defied the royal norm for her dream meeting with the late Queen Elizabeth II. The blonde beauty was invited to attend the Royal Command Performance at the Empire Theatre in London in October 1956. However, the eye-popping outfit she wore grabbed the media attention as it broke a crucial royal protocol. 

According to the book When Marilyn Met the Queen by author Michelle Morgan, the female attendees of the event were requested to "dress in a suitable manner to meet royalty — for example, they should not wear gowns that were so low-cut that they showed too much cleavage," per PEOPLE. However, Monroe refused to oblige to the royal rules and followed her heart. 

"...The dress Marilyn chose to wear when meeting Queen Elizabeth II was like nothing they had in mind. Made of gold lamé, the gown was so low-cut that the tops of Marilyn's breasts were on full display. Tight to the body, with spaghetti straps and a fold of material meeting at the chest and heading down towards the floor, the dress came complete with a matching cap and bag," Morgan added. 

Monroe was 30 years old when she had the privilege to shake hands with the Queen. She traveled to England to film The Prince and The Showgirl when she was invited alongside other celebrities to meet Her Highness. The party also had Lord and Countess Mountbatten while Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, was seemingly absent from the event, per Express. The book further detailed that although she appeared 'smiling broadly' with a cape on inside the theater, she "threw back her cape to reveal her spectacular dress. Flashlights popped, and then she and [husband] Arthur Miller ascended the steps and reached the space where the celebrities were lining up to meet the Queen." 

The Queen, on the other hand, was dressed in a modest black, full-skirted gown, and a diamond and gold tiara. As Morgan narrated in the book, Her Majesty gave a 'brief look up and down' Monroe's not-so-conservative dress. "The actress took Her Majesty's hand and then descended into a well-practiced curtsy," the author added. "The two then chatted for several minutes, and covered subjects including being neighbors and the Queen's beloved Windsor. 'We love it,' Marilyn said. As we have a permit my husband and I go for bicycle rides in the Great Park."

The Queen, although, didn't seem phased about Monroe's dress, reportedly 'felt sorry' for her who 'licked off her lipstick' out of nervousness. After the meeting was over, The Misfits actress spoke highly of Her Highness with the journalists, "The Queen is very warm-hearted. She radiates sweetness. She asked how I liked living in Windsor." The book was released in February 2022 and only months after, in September, Queen Elizabeth died "peacefully. In her sleep. Slipped away. Old age. She wouldn't have been aware of anything. No pain," as per BBC. Meanwhile, Monroe died in 1962, six years after meeting the Queen in 1956, of a barbiturate overdose at the age of 36.