Kate Middleton's request to the 'Mary Poppins' actress that made Charlotte happy
Princess Charlotte experienced a fan moment thanks to her mother, Kate Middleton. This was revealed by British actress, singer, and dancer Zizi Strallen, well-known in London's West End musical theater, where she rose to fame for her role in Mary Poppins. The artist spoke to HELLO!
"Would you mind if Charlotte hugged Mary Poppins?"
Her performance as the most famous nanny on the big screen in 2022 earned her an Olivier Award nomination. Her performance was seen by the Princess of Wales, Prince George and Princess Charlotte, as well as David and Victoria Beckham. Zizi tells HELLO! that Princess Kate made a very special request when she and her children went to see her backstage after watching her as Mary Poppins. "Kate took Prince George and Princess Charlotte to see Mary Poppins. They came backstage and she said to me, 'Would you mind if Charlotte hugged Mary Poppins?' I said, 'Yes!' She wanted to hug me, which was very sweet," said Zizi Strallen. Her day didn't end there because David and Victoria Beckham also attended the show. "It was a surreal day, because they arrived in the afternoon, and then David and Victoria came in the evening with Harper, Romeo, and Cruz."
Belonging to a dynasty of artists
Zizi comes from a family of artists. She is the niece of Bonnie Langford and one of the four Strallen sisters (Scarlett, Summer, and Saskia) who are enjoying success in London's West End. "My sisters and I are really good at supporting each other through tough times and telling each other, 'You're amazing, you're going to make it, people love you, and you'll be back to work, it's okay.' I think people think we work all the time, but that's not the case. Everyone in this industry has periods when they're not working and feel like they'll never work again," Zizi explains.
The first time he met Kate Middleton
The actress added: "On the other hand, we're also good at staying grounded. When I got this job, everyone was writing to me saying, 'We're going to call you Linda instead of Glinda,' because I was the Glinda version in Temu." Even Zizi's encounters with royalty have elicited hilarious reactions from her sisters, she explains, recalling her first meeting with Kate before the Royal Variety Performance in 2019. "My sisters laugh at me for this, because there's a video of me meeting Kate at the Gala: I'm dressed as Mary Poppins, and as she walks away, I do this really awkward little girl wave. I was so impressed by how tall, elegant, and stunning she was, and to see that she and William were so down-to-earth."