When The Princesses Came to Play
We talk a lot about Hollywood royalty—and whoever fits your
bill of what that entails—but how often does actual royalty collide with
Hollywood, aside from Princess Grace?
In one of my favourite stories that doesn’t involve Monaco,
three princesses from Scandinavia came to Hollywood in 1960 to promote a new
airline and lived it up. It almost sounds like the premise of a very chic, very
stylish mid-century musical but I promise it’s a real story.
gif by me
In June 1960, Princess Margrethe of Denmark, Princess Astrid
of Norway, and Princess Margaretha of Sweden arrived in Hollywood to celebrate
the Los Angeles-New York flight added to the roster by Scandinavian Airlines.
They were on the inaugural DC-8 flight when it landed on June 3 in
California.
And when real royalty comes knocking, you have to match it
with Hollywood royalty: Elvis Presley was on hand to welcome the Scandinavian
princesses, as was Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, and Shirley MacLaine during a tour
of Paramount Pictures Studios.
Elvis was in uniform at the time, filming G.I. Blues,
and reportedly sang ‘Are You Lonesome Tonight’ to the princesses, though jury’s
out on whether or not this actually happened.
Their itinerary was stuffed with quintessential California
to-dos: a trip to Disneyland and Sea World and lunch at a roadside diner—I’m
not royalty, but somebody bankroll that for me and I’ll show up in a tiara!
The pièce de resistance was a ‘Waif Ball’ at the Beverly
Hilton Ballroom where they were the toast of the town in front of guests
including Barbara Stanwyck, Jeanette MacDonald, Merle Oberon, Dinah Shore, Arlene
Dahl and Desi Arnaz.
Of course, the royals showed up dripping in jewellery: Princess
Margarethe wore the Alexandrine Drop Tiara, a stunning diamond drop tiara.
Princess Astrid wore the Vasa Tiara, a diamond and platinum piece made for her
mother. Princess Margaretha wore the Four Button Tiara, a unique diamond button
piece.
Cal York wrote up the visit in his column for the September
1960 issue of Photoplay:
“They are quite the handsomest couple in the room,
I thought to myself, as Cesar Romero and Princess Margaretha of Sweden waltzed
by my table at the Waif Ball in the Beverly Hilton ballroom,” York
wrote.
“The three tall, sweet-faced Princesses,
Margaretha of Sweden, Astrid of Norway and Margrethe of Denmark, each had
partners of equal height. Vincent Prince, Fernando Lamas, George Montgomery and
Tom Tyron were all gallant attendants.”
Tyron told Cal York “I followed instructions. I presented
myself, spoke my name, and requested a dance. I felt flattered to be dancing with
such a lovely princess.”
I love it when interests collide like this.
source unknown
And in case you’re wondering, here’s what happened to all of the princesses:
Princess Margrethe is now Queen Margrethe, having inherited
the Danish throne in 1972. She’s Denmark’s first queen regnant since the 1300s
and just celebrated her Golden Jubilee this year. She’s always been extremely
popular and is beloved by the Danish population. She’s very artistic, having
illustrated the Danish edition of Lord of the Rings and regularly works
in the theatre as a costume designer. She is 82 years old.
Princess Astrid of Norway was never in the line of succession (women
were barred until the ‘90s) but carried out duties on behalf of her father,
King Olav, who was widowed before he became king. She kept this up, as Norway’s
‘first lady’ until her younger brother (the current King Harald) married in
1968. Princess Astrid married a man named Johan Ferner in 1961 and had five
children, continues to carry out royal engagements, and is 90 years old.
Princess Margaretha of Sweden never officially carried out royal duties as women were not included in the line of succession at the time (this would change in the ‘70s). She married a man named John Ambler in 1964, had three children, and attends major royal events like weddings and funerals, but otherwise lives a private life. She is 87 years old.
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