Close Encounter: Remember When a Young Drew Barrymore Gave Princess Diana an E.T. Doll?

The actress and talk show host was just 7 years old when she starred in director Steven Spielberg’s 1982 classic about a lovable alien and the family that adopts him. Following the film’s June 1982 premiere in the States, Spielberg and his young cast traveled to London for E.T.’s U.K. opening in December.

 Prince Charles and Princess Diana, nearly a year and a half into their (famously troubled) marriage at the time, were both on hand for the premiere at the Empire Cinema in London’s Leicester Square, where they greeted Spielberg, Barrymore and co-stars Henry Thomas and Robert MacNaughton.

Adorably, Barrymore took the opportunity to present Diana with a plush version of the film’s titular extra-terrestrial.

“I remember it like it was yesterday,” Barrymore told Jimmy Kimmel on a 2018 episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live. “It was the most exciting moment for me to meet a real-life princess — the real-life princess, the people’s princess.”

“Diana was and is and will always be the epitome of a woman that all little girls look up to,” she continued.

In 2018, the actress and chat show host called her encounter with the princess the “most exciting moment” of her young life.

E.T. the Extra Terrestrial opened in the U.S. 42 years ago today, but it wasn’t until months later that Drew Barrymore had a royal encounter that she has called “the most exciting moment” of her young life.

The actress and talk show host was just 7 years old when she starred in director Steven Spielberg’s 1982 classic about a lovable alien and the family that adopts him. Following the film’s June 1982 premiere in the States, Spielberg and his young cast traveled to London for E.T.’s U.K. opening in December. 

Prince Charles and Princess Diana, nearly a year and a half into their (famously troubled) marriage at the time, were both on hand for the premiere at the Empire Cinema in London’s Leicester Square, where they greeted Spielberg, Barrymore and co-stars Henry Thomas and Robert MacNaughton.

Adorably, Barrymore took the opportunity to present Diana with a plush version of the film’s titular extra-terrestrial.

Kimmel showed a photo of the young Barrymore handing the stuffed toy to Diana, and asked if she thought the Princess may have tossed the plush toy in that garbage later.

“No!” she replied. “Look at the way she’s looking at it! She was so kind and so nice. … I have to say, growing up with her as a princess was just such a good example.”

She also noted Spielberg’s watchful gaze in the photo. “You can see Steven’s really looking, like, wanting to make sure I don’t mess this up,” she joked. “He was very paternal to me. He was like, ‘Well, your mom took you to Studio 54 last night, so…I want to make sure you don’t screw up this very royal, regal moment.’ ”

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