Michael Owen was once told off by Queen Elizabeth II for taking his hat off when they shared a lift together at Royal Ascot.
The former England football star and stable owner once shared the "royal lift" with the monarch during a day at the races with his wife Louise, and has said he was left "mortified" after being "b****ked" by the Queen when he took off his hat, as he believed that was the correct etiquette.
He said: "When she [The Queen] walked into the royal lift there were perhaps 15 of us outside. ‘Come on,’ she said, ‘We can all squeeze in’. I obeyed – taking my hat off as I thought that correct etiquette.
"’If you’d put your hat back on,’ she said, voice raised, ‘we might all fit in!’
"I sheepishly put my hat on. I was mortified. To this day I have absolutely no idea if she was joking. Louise was nudging me from the other side trying not to laugh because I’d been b****ked by the Queen."
The 39-year-old star also detailed a time when he’d enjoyed a pre-race meal at Windsor Castle, and had been worried about using his cutlery in the appropriate manner.
Writing in his new book ‘Reboot’, Michael explained: "I was careful to hold my fork in the correct hand and so on. I needn’t have worried. The Queen was throwing bits of starter to her corgis!"
Queen Elizabeth, 93, may have just been joking though, as she’s known to enjoy teasing people, and was recently reported to have played a prank on a group of American tourists when they visited Balmoral earlier this month.
The tourists didn’t recognise the royal and asked her if she lived nearby, and when she said that she did, they asked if she’d ever met the Queen.
To which she reportedly gestured to her protection officer and replied: "No, but this policeman has."
Michael Owen scolded by the Queen for taking his hat off
