Queen Elizabeth II lookalike, Jeannette Charles (96) dies in Essex
Jeannette Charles, the veteran British actor famed for her striking resemblance to Queen Elizabeth II, has passed away at the age of 96. On Wednesday, her daughter, Carol Christophi, confirmed that her mother passed away on June 2 in a care home in Great Beddow, Essex. "Mum was a real character and a force of nature. She had an amazing life," said Christophi in a statement.
Charles's career as Queen Elizabeth II impersonator began in 1970s
Charles's uncanny, life-altering likeness to Queen Elizabeth II first gained attention during her childhood and later became her claim to fame in the 1970s. Her impersonation career took off when artist Jane Thornhill submitted her portrait to the Royal Academy of Arts's summer exhibition in 1972, leading Buckingham Palace to inquire if the Queen had sat for it! "After that, my phone didn't stop ringing...an agent said my resemblance to the Queen could be a money-spinner," Charles once recalled.
Charles's five-decade career as Queen Elizabeth II lookalike
Over five decades, Charles made "appearances on TV chat shows, opened supermarkets, assisted magicians, and shot adverts." She played Queen Elizabeth in music videos and on Saturday Night Live and even presented a silver disc to the band Queen. Her most notable roles were in National Lampoon's European Vacation, Naked Gun, and Austin Powers in Goldmember. Throughout her career, she remained a "staunch royalist" and never accepted roles that "would reflect badly on the monarch or myself."
Charles and the Queen passed away at the same age
By her retirement in 2014, Charles was considered the most famous queen lookalike. "I don't think anyone else had earned a living by resembling someone famous before - now there's a whole industry," she said. Born on October 15, 1927, 18 months after Queen Elizabeth II, Charles lived to be the same age as the Queen, who passed away in 2022. "She was always respectful of the Queen and adored the royal family," her daughter told UK radio station LBC.
When Charles talked about her husband's reaction to her career
Charles is survived by her daughter Christophi and sons David and Peter. Her husband breathed his last her in 1997. Speaking to The Guardian in 2022, Charles recalled her husband's reaction to her career, "The only time Ken was impressed was when he got to meet Muhammad Ali, who had requested a photograph with me."
Charles on her career as the Queen's doppelgänger
In the same interview, she reminisced, "I realized there might be a way of making my resemblance to the Queen work in my favor. I signed with an agency that supplied models for ads." "Over the years I've turned down large sums to pose for Page 3-type pictures, and insisted I should never be introduced as the Queen when making appearances." "People have told me that until her face was revealed, they were expecting it to be me."
