The Glitzy World of Elizabeth and Marilyn

Submitted: 17th April 2026

The Glitzy World of Elizabeth and Marilyn

Take two of the most iconic women in the world – Elizabeth II, the Queen no less and Marilyn Monroe – put them together and imagine them at a London film premiere – and wonder what it would have been like to have been a fly on the wall, then and after….

Map of Elizabeth and Marilyn

Well wonder no more. This novel has been a wonderful experience to read and fall into. You don’t just read this novel you are immersed into it.

Map of Elizabeth and Marilyn

Part of the blurb:

As the two most famous women in the world come face to face, they look to be worlds apart. Yet beneath the glamorous costumes, both are fighting to keep the men they love, while trying to do their work in a man’s world. And they have spent the summer of 1956 battling secret demons the public could never imagine.

Elizabeth the Queen (c) Wikipedia

Map of Elizabeth and Marilyn

From Buckingham Palace, we are placed inside a life that not many get to see or experience. A secret closeted world. Some might say it seems like a gilded cage. And then we have Mariyln Monroe, an iconic actress. “A money-making machine for Hollywood, with curves that drive men wild and a smile that lets women know she’s in on the joke.”

Marilyn Monroe (c) Wikipedia

Map of Elizabeth and Marilyn

In real life, Queen Elizabeth II and Marilyn Monroe really did meet it would seem but once and very briefly. What this novel does it to imagine what could have happened had they got to know each other. You might not think that a reigning monarch and an actress could have anything in common but you will be surprised. When these two women are compared, there are many similarities. When you see them as women and not characters, not iconic figures, your entire perception changes.

Leicester Square where the Empire Theatre is in the novel:

We see inside a London palace, an iconic film premiere, Windsor Castle. Two very different lifestyles, two cultures that come together, clash in some places and blend seamlessly in others. Such drastically different locations and particular settings…utterly fascinating on their own but even more so when looked at side by side.

This is so fascinating – to see how these two iconic women – Lilibet and Norma Jean – are really when the lights go out and the reality hits.