In 2017, fresh off of the success of “La La Land,” songwriting duo Justin Paul and Benj Pasek joined another high-profile musical project: “The Greatest Showman,” a film centered around the genesis of the Barnum & Bailey Circus directed by Michael Gracey and written by Jenny Bicks (“Sex and the City”) and Bill Condon (“Chicago,” “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn”).

Led by Hugh Jackman as P.T. Barnum, the movie boasts a pretty incredible line-up of stars, including Zac Efron, Zendaya, Michelle Williams, Rebecca Ferguson, and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, and tells the story of how Barnum created the circus after a failed attempt at opening a museum in New York. As Barnum and his troupe gain notoriety, they’re given bigger and bigger opportunities — including meeting a sitting monarch.

Since the film is set in the 1800s, the Queen of England in its universe is Queen Victoria, who ruled the United Kingdom from 1837 to 1901, marking one of the longest reigns in history after Queen Elizabeth II. During their meteoric rise to fame, Barnum and his performers are granted an audience with Queen Victoria, who’s played by Gayle Rankin. Yes, her appearance in “The Greatest Showman” is brief, but Rankin had a pretty huge responsibility, considering that she was tasked with playing one of the most legendary royals in the history of the British monarchy.