Her Majesty's Theatre as we know it today was built in 1897 and designed by Charles Philipps. Commissioned by Herbert Beerbohm Tree with the profit from the success of Trillby produced at the Theatre Royal Haymarket, it became one of the most beautiful and prestigious theatre in London.
Like the Drury Lane Theatre Royal, it was built on a site where 3 predecessors had once stood. The First one, named the Queen's Theatre was built in 1705 and completely destroyed by fire in 1789. Rebuilt as the King's Theatre in 1791, it became Her Majesty's Theatre in 1837 and once again burnt to the ground around 1867. The third theatre built on the site was the Italian Opera House which opened in 1877 and was demolished in 1891 to give way to Her Majesty's Theatre as we know it today.
Herbert Beerbohm Tree left the Haymarket to take the management of what he used to call "My beautiful, beautiful theatre". Inspired by the classical forms of Angel Jacques Gabriel's opera house in Versailles, it has similar triple tiers boxes, framed by Marble Corinthian columns and eighteenth-century style paintings on the ceiling.
During Tree's management, Her Majesty's Theatre housed a series of Shakespeare's plays and other dramas. Previous productions include Oliver Twist, Faust, Pygmalion, Chu Chin Chow, West Side Story, Fiddler On The Roof, Bubbling Brown Sugar.
The Phantom Of The Opera, produced by Cameron Mackintosh, has found in Her Majesty's Theatre the perfect home and has well contributed at filling the 1,260 seats since 1986!
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