Sweden's Queen Silvia Pulls a Princess Anne in 49-Year-Old Evening Gown—And Gives a Drag Queen a Major Shock

Just when you thought Princess Anne was the queen of the royal re-wear, this Swedish royal gave the Princess Royal a run for her money. Just like Anne (and Princess Kate), Queen Silvia is known to recycle decades-old pieces of clothing—and even passes them down to daughter Crown Princess Victoria. But on Saturday, May 31, she made one performer do a double-take in a nearly 50-year-old evening dress.

Per Vanity Fair, Queen Silvia—who married King Carl XVI Gustaf in 1976—wore the same sparkling yellow Dior gown that she debuted shortly after her royal wedding while appearing on a new episode of Swedish show Vilket liv! over the weekend.

And she didn't just recycle the gown for any old reason; Silvia wore the Dior dress to surprise drag performer Christer Lindarw, who has been impersonating the Swedish queen since the '70s. The designer and actor created his own copy of the bright yellow gown to wear for a 1977 drag performance after Queen Silvia wore it to the 1976 Nobel Prize ceremony and a state visit to the Netherlands.

In a video shared by the Swedish family on Instagram, the performer is seen gasping and covering his mouth when Queen Silvia walked out on stage in her famous yellow gown and the priceless Napoleonic Cut-Steel Tiara.

"The Queen appeared tonight in TV4's "Vilket liv!" the royal court captioned the post. "The TV program pays tribute to the artist Christer Lindarw, who for many years impersonated Her Majesty in the drag show group After Dark's performances. 🪩👸."

The moment paid tribute to Lindarw's 1977 performance, during which he gave Queen Silvia a rose as she watched from the royal box with King Carl Gustaf. This time, the queen returned the favor and presented him with a pink rose and gave Lindarw a hug as the crowd gave the pair a standing ovation.

"From a queen to another queen," Queen Silvia said to an emotional Lindarw. And as for her Dior dress? "It's the original," she declared.