Queen Elizabeth Will Always Have a Place in Her Heart for Betty White
Who would have thought Queen Elizabeth’s mom was a huge fan of the Golden Girls? The Queen Mother was reportedly a diehard fan of the sitcom and once asked Betty White and the rest of the crew for a live performance. White and her co-stars agreed to fly to London for the show, which endeared her to Queen Elizabeth to this day.
The ‘Golden Girls’ go to London for Queen Elizabeth
Upon the Queen Mother’s request, Betty White and her co-stars, Bea Arthur, Rue McClanahan, and Estelle Getty flew to London in 1988 to perform a few scenes from their show. The resulting skit was televised as part of the Royal Variety Performance at the London Palladium.
Prior to the performance, Arthur revealed that they were only planning on doing around 7 minutes of a scene from the show and that they were going to “censor a few things for the queen.”
Although most of their jokes were tamed down, the cast left in a few of their typical jokes, much to the pleasure of the Queen Mother.
After Dorothy asked Blanche how long she waited to get in bed with another man after her husband died, the Queen Mother reportedly laughed hard at Sophia’s reply: “Until the paramedics came.”
The Queen Mother was hardly the only royal who adored the Golden Girls. Princess Diana reportedly loved the sitcom back in the 1980s and often watched episodes with Freddie Mercury.
Betty White opens up about her royal performance
During a Reddit AMA back in 2014, a fan asked White about what it was like performing in front of the Queen Mother and Queen Elizabeth. The fan questioned if they had to change the “tone” of some of their jokes, especially when it came to McClanahan.
The actress did not say anything about being censored. According to Vanity Fair, White revealed that it was “very exciting” being in London and called the Queen Mother a “lovely” person.
“It was very exciting. Queen Elizabeth was lovely. We were told not to address her unless we were addressed. She was up in a box and she came down on stage after with Princess Anne,” White recalled.
White also addressed the topic in her 2010 book, Here We Go Again: My Life in Television. In her memoir, White shared that she met the Queen Mother backstage and that she was the last person in line to greet her with a curtsy.
The Queen Mother apparently mentioned to White how the Rockettes behind them were “beautiful girls,” to which White said, “Yes, and such lovely bodies.”
“She lit up with a radiant smile that belied her eighty-six years and replied, “Oh, yes. Lovely bawdies,” White wrote.
Is Betty White worth more than Queen Elizabeth?
Over the course of her storied career, White has amassed an impressive net worth. According to our researchers here at Cheat Sheet, the actress is worth a whopping $75 million, most of which she earned in the television industry.
Apart from starring on Golden Girls, White has appeared in a variety of shows over the years. This includes Hot in Cleveland, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, What’s My Line?, I’ve Got a Secret, To Tell the Truth, Pyramid, and Match Game.
Although $75 million is a large sum, White’s fortune pales in comparison to Queen Elizabeth’s net worth. Her Majesty has an estimated worth of over $500 million, and that only includes her personal holdings. The British royal family has a total net worth of over $88 billion.
White’s fortune is smaller than Queen Elizabeth’s, but the actress does have Her Majesty beat when it comes to age. White was born in 1922, making her four years older than Queen Elizabeth.
Her Majesty is currently the longest-ruling monarch in the history of the British empire. She has sat on the throne ever since her coronation in 1952 and continues to fulfill hundreds of royal engagements every year.
As far as White is concerned, the actress reportedly holds a special place in Queen Elizabeth’s heart. Not only was Her Majesty grateful for White entertaining the Queen Mother in the 1980s, but she also reminds her of her late mother, who passed away in 2002.
