A closer look

British royalty literally requested a private, live performance of the American sitcom The Golden Girls, because apparently even the Queen Mother needed her daily dose of senior citizen sass. In 1988, Bea Arthur, Betty White, Rue McClanahan, and Estelle Getty flew to London to perform scripts live at the London Palladium specifically for her. They had to censor a few of the raunchier jokes to protect the delicate sensibilities of the monarchy, but the core dynamic of elderly women roasting each other remained intact. There is something intensely funny about one of the most powerful monarchs in history using her limitless royal influence not to summon dignitaries, but to force four middle-aged Hollywood actresses to perform sitcom dialogue just for her personal amusement