It is said that we all have a double somewhere in the world. Queen Elizabeth II, who died on Thursday 8 September at the age of 96, had her own right of her there of her, among one of her subjects, Jeanette Carlo and, moreover, she was his age, just a year and a half younger.

What could have been an inconvenience and inconvenience to everyday life, it turned out to be a livelihood for Jeannette who, almost by chance, became his official imitator and so onI have acted in over thirty films, playing the queen.

The life of a double or an imitator can be very strange: it always works from being an anonymous version of someone famous. But for Jeannette it meant becoming famous thanks to her enormous resemblance to the longest-lived monarch in history.

The actress had to put herself in the shoes of one of the great figures of 20th century history and show a profile that the true queen would never have made public, especially in film comedies.

The beginning, the occasion of a painting

But his stunt life began in a casual and movie-worthy way. It was 1972, during the auction of a painting.

A painting arrived at the Royal Academy in London which was apparently a portrait of Elizabeth II. But as soon as someone took a closer look, the truth emerged. The person posing was not the Queen of Great Britain but an ordinary citizen, Jeannette Charles, who she dedicated the painting to her husband as a birthday present.

In addition to immediately clarifying the situation, his incredible resemblance to the queen meant for Charles the beginning of a curious film career in which he played only one character.

Jeannette he began receiving offers to act in commercials and requests for interviews rained down on him: everyone wanted to know who was the woman identical to His Majesty.

Where it was impossible to summon the queen for a scene (except the recent exception where, on the occasion of the jubilee for her 70 years of reign, Isabel was seen in a clip having tea with Paddington Bearvery popular character in England), as if by magic, there was Jeannette and, moreover, British like her.

“I have been interviewed for newspapers, magazines and radio and an agent told me my likeness to the queen could be a source of moneyCharles later told the newspaper Guardian.

Therefore, the actress shot one film after another, but paying close attention accept only those proposals that do not affect the real image or that it could be offensive to the figure of Elizabeth II.

Her teenage dreams of becoming an actress were coming true, although not quite as she had imagined. When she first applied to London’s prestigious Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, she was accepted after an initial audition. But then she had to give up because the cost of a degree from that institution was too high.

financial support

The young working-class woman who failed to make a career in the traditional style, curiously found her financial support in her double, the richest woman in Britain and one of the most powerful in the world.

Turning her life upside down, Jeannette decided to exploit their physical similarity and, using her tools as an actress, observed and studied the behavior of Elizabeth II in detail to interpret it in dozens of films and series.

So it worked the naked gun with Leslie Nielsen and inside Austin Powers in Goldmemberwith Mike Myers, All you need is cash, National Lampoon’s European Vacation, Queen Kong, among other productions.

But their physical similarity was exploited to the maximum, to the point that even the rock world was interested in having it in some video clips. “I appeared on TV shows, opened supermarkets, helped wizards and shot commercials all over the world. The bands wanted me for music videos and I handed out gifts with musician Liberace,” he recalled in Guardian.

Even He even delivered a silver disc to the band Queenin what was a brief but amusing meeting between the queens.

“While it may not seem like it, I’ve worked very, very hard,” he said. “I spent hours perfecting the queen’s voice and mannerisms and kept track of her every move so I could mention them in my speeches.”

His time in Argentina and his photo with Clarin

On her trip around the world, almost 30 years ago, Jeannette also passed through Argentina. At the height of her career as a double Elizabethan, she arrived in the countryside hired to film a commercial for a tea brand.

This reporter went to interview her and the brief meeting was friendly and fun. Jeannette not only looked a lot like her queen (at least in the images we have of her from this part of the world), but she wasand he behaved as such.

With gaunt, careful gestures and few words, he said he liked playing that role because it allowed him to work, travel the world and meet people. And he also recalled that, on one occasion, the real Elizabeth II had invited her to Buckingham Palace for tea. “She thanked me for doing my job with respect and I felt very honored,” she recalled.

Now 94, mother of three Jeannette Charles has been retired for nearly a decade due to arthritis. In these hours you will probably greet your ruler with a few tears.

wd