The late Queen Elizabeth’s most famous lookalike banned her daughter-in-law from her funeral, the Mail has learned.
Known to millions as the instantly recognizable face of Her Majesty, Jeannette Charles made a living from her uncanny resemblance to Queen Elizabeth II for forty years, playing her in personal appearances, TV shows and Hollywood films, including Naked Gun.
But while the late Monarch’s relationship with her daughter-in-law Diana Princess of Wales was said to be ‘complicated’ with many ups and downs, it appears that Mrs Charles also had problems with her own daughter-in-law.
The actress, a widow who died last June at the age of 96, left a barbed comment in her will about her son Peter’s wife, Cindy, estate records show.
In it, she said she wanted to be cremated and have her ashes interred with those of her husband Kenneth Charles, who died in 1997.
But the third sentence read firmly: “I declare that my daughter-in-law Cindy Charles will not attend my funeral.”
The will, which was made in February 2020, did not reveal why she made the request about her son’s wife Peter, 64, who was living in Garland, Texas, in the United States at the time.
Whatever the reason for the disapproval, Cindy still spoke fondly of Mrs. Charles after her death.
Jeannette Charles made a living for forty years with her uncanny resemblance to Queen Elizabeth II
The actress, a widow who died last June at the age of 96, left a barbed comment in her will about her son Peter’s wife, Cindy, estate records show.
Ms. Charles played Queen Elizabeth II in personal appearances, TV shows and Hollywood films, including Naked Gun (pictured)
Pictured: Mrs. Charles appears in the 1988 comedy The Naked Gun as the late Queen
Her husband posted a Facebook message last October on what would have been his late mother’s birthday, saying, “Thinking of Mom on her birthday. We all miss you xx’, and Cindy replied: ‘What a beautiful tribute and a very beautiful photo of the three of you. Happy Heavenly Birthday Jeannette (love heart emoji)’.
Mrs Charles lived in Danbury near Chelmsford, Essex, before dying in a care home when she was the same age as the Queen at her death at Balmoral ten months earlier in September 2022
Records show she left an estate of £647,865, reduced to a net sum of £412,952 after debts.
The actress admitted in her will that she made “more provision” for her daughter Carol Christophi than for her two sons because of her “unequivocal and unwavering care for me, at the expense of her own marriage and family life.”
She also insisted that she and her husband had already provided her two sons with ‘significant lifelong provision’.
Her family expressed their love for her in a funeral announcement in her local newspaper, describing her as “an amazing woman who lived a full and incredible life.”
The post added: ‘Credited as the world’s first and most famous lookalike, with a career that spanned decades. To us she was just mom or grandma. We miss her humor and zest for life. Now at peace with her husband Kenneth.’
Mrs Charles lived in Danbury near Chelmsford, Essex, before dying in a care home when she was the Queen’s age
Jeannette Charles A lookalike of Queen Elizabeth II and Walt Hanna A lookalike of President Jimmy Carter outside Buckingham Palace
Mrs. Charles began her career as a Queen lookalike after commissioning artist Jane Thornhill to paint a portrait of her in 1972 as a birthday gift for her husband.
Mrs. Charles began her career as a Queen lookalike after commissioning artist Jane Thornhill to paint a portrait of her in 1972 as a birthday gift for her husband.
The artist later submitted the portrait to the Royal Academy’s Summer Exhibition, but officials who thought it was a portrait of the Queen rejected it on the grounds that it must have been painted from a photograph rather than a personal one. royal session.
When it turned out that the photo was actually of Mrs. Charles, there was a flurry of newspaper stories that led to her being offered work posing as the Queen.
Mrs. Charles continued to make constant personal appearances, often opening stores, appearing in advertisements and even exchanging gifts with the flamboyant piano virtuoso Liberace.
She also appeared with Lindsay Lohan, Dennis Quaid and Natasha Richardson in the 1988 film The Parent Trap, and in the James Bond parody Goldmember in 2002, when she mistook Austin Powers star Mike Myers for an electrician from the crew when she saw him met for the first time.
She achieved so much fame in her own life that her autobiography, The Queen & I, was published in 1986.