The real life ‘Palm Royale’: Meet the original Palm Beach influencers who ruled the glitzy 1969 social scene – so what would THEY think of today’s posers?

Apple TV’s glamorous new hit show ‘Palm Royale’ offers a glimpse into the gilded but conniving world of Palm Beach high society in 1969 – but who were the real women who dominated the social scene that year?

The chic beach city played host to some of the richest and most iconic Americans of the time, including Estée Lauder, Marjorie Merriweather Post and Noreen Drexel.

Now, stunning time capsule images carefully preserved in the State Archives now offer a behind-the-scenes glimpse into what life was really like for those on the ground, as they dressed to the nines in long colorful printed dresses and adorned themselves with extravagant jewelry. .

To many, these powerful women were Palm Beach’s original influencers, but instead of parading their outfits on TikTok like today’s residents, they relied on glittering parties, galas and charity balls to showcase their style.

Many of the photographs were taken in exclusive locations such as Worth Avenue and Royal Poinciana Plaza, with high-society chronicler Bert Morgan documenting a host of events including a March 1969 gala to benefit St. Mary’s Hospital at the Everglades Club in Palm Beach and a Red Cross fundraiser at The Breakers.

A photo set from a fashion show as part of the St Mary’s Hospital event features Diana Auchincloss, the stepmother of actress and model Brooke Shields.

Auchincloss, pictured in a blue and white printed floor-length dress with a green bow and matching satin shoes, was previously married to Thomas Gore Auchincloss, a member of the Onassis family.

Her father was the German vice consul in the US. The well-connected woman was also a debutante and member of the Grosvenor Ball committee, according to a wedding announcement in the New York Times.

Also at the fashion show was Mary Obolensky, a former FBI employee and later a committed philanthropist, including support from the Russian Nobility Association and Cancer and Blood Foundation.

Obolensky also founded the Mary Obolensky Underwood Foundation for Leukemia Research before her death in 2006.

There’s also a relaxed image of Eugenie Marron with Alwin Franz and Edwin B. Coleman on the elite shopping street Worth Avenue, where designers like Chanel have storefronts.

Marron, a New York socialite who set world records as a pioneering deep-sea fisherman, dazzled in bright red trousers and a matching top with a Peter Pan collar.

According to her obituary, Marron became the first woman to catch a giant bluefin.

Joyce Hepworth moved to Palm Beach with her husband George in the 1960s. She developed a passion for firearms and “eventually became one of the few female NSCA Level III sports instructors in clay, clay, trap and field,” according to her obituary. She was also an enthusiast of sport fishing and competitive shooting.

Hepworth is pictured with her husband George at a luau hosted at the home of former United Nations Committee chairman Peter IB Lavan.

Marjorie Merriweather Post is seen in a photo by Bert Morgan as she reigns over a Red Cross ball at the world famous luxury hotel The Breakers.

Merriweather is seen wearing a striking pink dress, red satin shoes with a tiara on top of her head. Diamonds also drip from her neck, wrists and earrings in a glamorous display of wealth.

Some of Post’s jewelry was so exquisite that it was bequeathed to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC

Post made her money as the owner of General Foods Corporation and became the richest woman in the US.

She was the previous owner of the Mar-a-Lago mansion in Palm Beach, now the residence of former President Donald Trump and his wife Melania. Post married four times throughout her life, each ending in divorce.

Agnes Carvel is pictured at the Everglades Club during a gala for St Mary’s Hospital in March 1969.

Her statement full-length gold gloves march with her gold sequined handbag.

Carvel is in the photo next to her husband Tom, the inventor of soft ice cream and founder of the ice cream brand Carvel.

Noreen Drexel, pictured with her husband John R. Drexel III, came from an English aristocratic family before emigrating to the US with her mother in 1938. Her ancestors include eight martyred saints.

Having never received any formal education, she was a fierce advocate and supporter of public schools. She was deeply involved in several philanthropic organizations, including running the West Palm Beach Red Cross, an event for which she is pictured.

At the same event, Estée Lauder was pictured in a teal dress and dazzling headdress as she waltzed with professional dancer Verne Casanave.

The cosmetics entrepreneur looks suitably glamorous with red lipstick and shimmering eyeshadow.

Lauder led a luxurious social life in Palm Beach, where he mingled with the likes of Ivana Trump.

Lyn Fisher Sheresky Revson, wife of Revlon founder Charles Revson, a competitor of Estee Lauder.

Revson enjoyed vacationing on her yacht and cultivated a fashion collection, including dozens of Hermes bags, that landed her on society publications’ “best dressed” lists, according to one W profile after her death. She lived with her husband in a 28-room triplex in Manhattan before they divorced after ten years of marriage.

Revson is seen wearing a large white balloon dress with puff sleeves, a beautiful navy blue collar and a red bow on the chest. She will be accompanied at the Red Cross Ball by John R. Drexel III.

What would these icons think of the current Palm Beach style?

Instead of being on the guest list for charity at the Breakers, the modern social status symbol is featured on the city’s unofficial best-dressed list: the “Class of Palm Beach” social media account.

Class of Palm Beach, which has been viewed millions of times on TikTok, parades the city’s best-dressed people and asks them where they bought their chic outfits.

The wildly popular social media page is the brainchild of a Millennial resident, who often stopped wealthy people on the street and asked which designer stores they bought their clothes and accessories from.

Some Palm Beachers are so determined to appear on the account – which has 672,000 followers – that they wait for hours on the busiest street in the hope of being spotted by the page’s sought-after administrator, DailyMail.com previously reported.