Paul McCartney Reflects on His 9 Meetings With Queen Elizabeth II, Including the Day She Knighted Him
thewrap.comQueen Elizabeth II, with a lengthy Facebook post looking back on the nine times he met her over the course of 53 years. “I feel privileged to have been alive during the whole of Queen Elizabeth II’s reign.
When I was 10 years old I entered an essay competition in Liverpool and won my division for my essay about the British Monarchy so I have been a fan for a long time,” McCartney wrote. “In 1953 when the Queen was crowned everyone on our street in Speke, Liverpool finally got a television set and we settled down to watch the Coronation in glorious black and white.”Twelve years later, with The Beatles at the peak of their fame and “Help!” at the top of the charts, McCartney and the rest of the Fab Four met the Queen for the first time as the band received their membership into the Order of the British Empire.“I remember us being taken aside and shown what the correct protocol was.
We were told how to approach Her Majesty and not to talk to her unless she talks to us. For four Liverpool lads, it was, ‘Wow, hey man,'” McCartney wrote.
McCartney’s other meetings with the Queen included a Royal Albert Hall performance in 1982, McCartney’s knighthood in 1997, and the Queen’s Golden and Diamond Jubilees in 2002 and 2012. “Just one year later and our next encounter was a very proud day for me.
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