Michael Owen was once 'left mortified' after receiving a 'b******ing' from Queen Elizabeth II in front of his wife at Royal Ascot.
The former England international is a racehorse breeder and was in attendance at the races a number of years ago.
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He revealed in his 2019 autobiography, 'Reboot: My Life, My Time' that one of his interactions with the Queen came in a lift.
Owen said: "When she walked into the royal lift there were perhaps 15 of us standing outside. 'Come on,' she said, 'we can all squeeze in'.
"Being the first one, I obeyed – while also taking my hat off as I thought that was the correct etiquette. 'If you’d put your hat back on,' she then said, with voice raised, 'we might all be able to fit in this lift!'
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"I sheepishly put my hat back on. I was mortified. And to this day I have absolutely no idea if she was being serious or was joking.
"Louise, meanwhile, was nudging me from the other side, trying desperately not to laugh because I’d just been b****ked by the Queen."
Owen went on to explain how mindful he was of royal etiquette while at Windsor Castle, even down to how he held his cutlery.
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Meanwhile, the Queen was happily throwing food down to her pet corgis.
He continued: "Mindful of my etiquette, I was being careful to hold my fork in the correct hand and so on.
"I needn’t have worried. I looked over at the Queen and she was throwing bits of her starter down to her corgis!"
Topics: Michael Owen
Daniel Marland