In season two, episode eight of The Crown, Jacqueline Kennedy (Jodi Balfour) threw shade at Queen Elizabeth II (Claire Foy) and Buckingham Palace in a way we never expected. But did that really happen?
Jackie and John F. Kennedy did, in fact, visit QEII and Prince Philip in June 1961, and although episode eight’s plotline may not have been completely accurate, it was pretty darn close.
According to The Telegraph, photographer Cecil Beaton wrote in his diary that Jackie told him “she was unimpressed by the palace furnishings and the Queen’s dress and hairstyle.” To make matters even worse, writer Gore Vidal alleged that Mrs. Kennedy found Her Majesty to be “pretty heavy going” and felt she “resented” her.
There is no historical record that these mean-girl comments ever got back to the queen, but, similar to the show, Queen Lillibet and Jackie did have lunch on March 28, 1962. Could it have been to bury the hatchet? Mrs. Kennedy told the press afterward, “I don’t think I should say anything about it except how grateful I am and how charming she was.”
