In 1949, she went with the Royal Ballet on a tour of America. In October that year, she and the Saddler's Well Ballet made their debut in the Metropolitan Opera House in New York with Sleeping Beauty. In July of 1954, Margot became President of the Royal Academy of Dancing. One year later, on February 6, She married "Tito" de Arias who became Panamanian Ambassador to Britain. In 1956, she was made Dame of the Order of the British Empire.
Three years later, in April, she was arrested in Panama for political reasons. In 1964 "Tito" de Arias was shot and permanently paralyzed in an assassination attempt. By then Margot Fonteyn was considered the most famous ballerina of the second half of the century. Margot made one of her last public appearances in May 1979, at the age of 60. She was the first ballerina to dance for over sixty years. Ten years later, she was made Chancellor of Durham University. In 1994, she performed for the last time at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York, and later that year in the Royal Opera house at Covent Gardens, in London. In 1989 "Tito" de Arias died. Margot Fonteyn remained in Panama until February 21, 1991 when she died of cancer. She played an important role in ballet, and changed the way we view dance as an art. Margot Fonteyn was 72 when she died.