Skip to main content
Movies / Royal family

Queen Elizabeth Probably Could’ve Made a Cameo in ‘The Parent Trap’

A deleted scene from 1998's version of 'The Parent Trap' featured Hallie (Lindsay Lohan) meeting Queen Elizabeth II outside of Buckingham Palace. The movie hired an actor to play the leader of the British royal family but it would've been a fun opportunity for her to make a cameo. Later, she and Prince Philip attended the movie's London premiere.
by Mandi Kerr
Published on
2 min read

There’s no denying The Parent Trap is one of Lindsay Lohan’s most popular movies. Heck, it’s probably one of the top Disney movies of the 1990s. There’s not much it can improve upon but imagine if Queen Elizabeth II were to make an appearance in the movie? Directed by Nancy Meyers, a deleted scene from the movie featured Hallie crossing paths with the queen. 

‘The Parent Trap’ premiered in 1998

Marking Lohan’s film debut, The Parent Trap hit theaters on July 20, 1998. A remake of the 1961 movie of the same name, Lohan had the ambitious task of playing the two main characters, Hallie Parker and Annie James. 

Long lost twins, the girls happen to attend the same summer camp. Upon discovering the truth, they hatch a plan to switch places. When summer’s over, Hallie heads to England pretending to be Annie, while British-raised Annie travels to California.

Their goal? To figure out why their parents split up and separated the girls. The dream? That they get their parents back together and live as one happy family. 

A deleted scene from ‘The Parent Trap’ features Hallie meeting Queen Elizabeth 

Just like any other movie, there are scenes from The Parent Trap that didn’t make the final cut. One of them is a scene where Hallie, pretending to be Annie, is being chauffeured around London with Martin (Simon Kunz), the butler. After some pleading to pull over at Buckingham Palace, Martin agrees, but not before remarking that she sounds like an American tourist. 

Hallie hops out of the car and drops her fake British accent while she chats up one of the Buckingham Palace guards. Then, to Hallie’s surprise, the guards start moving and the gates of the palace open. Not sure what to do Hallie stands there where she’s suddenly greeted by the queen. 

A fun moment and certainly a memorable experience for Hallie, Meyers decided to cut the scene because, according to E! News, she felt it “delayed the pacing of the movie.” Fans aren’t necessarily unhappy about the decision either. On YouTube, viewers commented they’re glad the scene didn’t make the cut because it seemed too unrealistic. 

Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip attended the movie’s premiere

When The Parent Trap had its London premiere, on the guest list were none other than Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. They showed up to the premiere and met the cast including Natasha Richardson and Dennis Quaid.

Richardson curtsied to the queen upon meeting her per royal protocol. 

Natasha Richardson curtseying to Queen Elizabeth II at 'The Parent Trap' Premiere
Natasha Richardson curtseying to Queen Elizabeth II at ‘The Parent Trap’ premiere | Ken Goff/The LIFE Images Collection via Getty Images/Getty Images

And, judging from the photos, they had a short chat. 

Had Hallie and the queen’s scene remained in the movie, it would’ve made for an interesting conversation starter at the premiere. And, who knows, maybe the queen would’ve made a brief appearance in the movie had she known about the scene. 

Watch The Parent Trap on Disney+ and check out the original 1961 version too.

Best in Entertainment