DAME JOAN COLLINS
‘To me, the Queen was an absolute star. I followed her life with interest and was struck dumb with admiration when I met her for the first time at the London premiere of 1967’s Dr Dolittle [above, with the actress’s then husband Anthony Newley, one of the film’s stars]. She seemed quite interested in how the film-makers had constructed the iconic [fictional creature] “pushmi-pullyu”. “It looked so real, almost as real as the other animals,” she quipped.
Since then, I have been fortunate to meet her about a dozen times. Each time, she appeared glad to see me, flashing that dazzling smile. I was always struck by her sense of style and colour co-ordination in her outfits.
When the Queen granted me my OBE, she was congratulatory when she remarked that I deserved the accolade, having been an actress “for many decades”. I smiled, remembering her mother saying to me at a premiere that they watched Dynasty every week. “And do you hate me, ma’am?” I enquired. “Oh no, we all LOVE you,” she replied. I do hope that her daughter did too!’
SPICE GIRL MELANIE BROWN
‘We met the Queen at the Royal Variety Show in 1997 [above], when the Spice Girls were at their height. It felt completely surreal for me – a working-class, mixed-race girl from a council estate in Leeds – to be shaking hands with the Queen.
My parents were beside themselves, making sure I’d practised my curtsy. It was an incredibly special moment. She was exactly as you would hope she would be – very regal, very posh and formal but with this little smile on her face, which made you realise that underneath her perfectly calm exterior was this incredible
