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.
He revealed in his 2019 autobiography, 'Reboot: My Life, My Time' that one of his interactions with the Queen came in a lift.
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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!'
"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.
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