Gist: Actress meets the Queen ahead of her royal stage role

Kristen Scott Thomas on the red carpet at the EE British Academy Film Awards. (Greatstock/Splash)

London — It's often unnerving for actors to meet the people they play — even more so when that person is the British monarch.

Kristin Scott Thomas came face-to-face on Thursday with Queen Elizabeth II, whom she is set to play on the London stage in The Audience.

The actress was at Buckingham Palace to be made a dame — the female equivalent of a knight — for services to drama.

Scott Thomas said the queen "asked me what I was doing next, so I had to tell her and she said it would be quite a challenge."

The Audience charts the queen's relationship with successive prime ministers over her six-decade reign.

Scott Thomas follows Helen Mirren, who originated the role and is currently starring in a Broadway production of the play.