With the news of Queen Elizabeth's passing, the world proceeded to mourn, and that included celebrities, artists, and common people alike. To uplift and cope, some artists shared their encounters with the late monarch, some funny and some touching.
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In 1994, Snoop Dogg was almost banned from entering the United Kingdom. The 50-year-old rapper cited his infamous murder trial as the reason behind the ban.
"This was while I was fighting a murder case, over there [U.K.] doing shows," he recalled. "But guess who came to my defense? Just take a guess..."
It was none other than the Queen of England herself. "The queen said, 'This man has done nothing in our country. He can come.' The queen, ni**a, bow down. When the queen [speaks], bow down."
Elton John is no stranger to the Queen, after all, he has been knighted by her. He was saddened by the news of her death and called her an inspiration.
John was knighted in 1998 for his work in music among other things. He was also reportedly close friends with the late Princess Diana.
In his memoir, "Me," John wrote, "I know the Queen's public image isn't exactly one of wild frivolity, but in private she could be hilarious."
He recalled an instance when he witnessed the late monarch slapping Viscount Linley, her nephew. Queen Elizabeth threw him a wink when she saw him looking at them during the exchange.
John took to Instagram, stating "Queen Elizabeth has been a huge part f my life from childhood to this day, and I will miss her dearly."
"Material Girl" Madonna has also met the Queen. In 2002, she was present at the London premiere of "Die Another Day," a movie out of the James Bond installment.
The interaction between Madonna and the Queen was caught on video, and it seemed pleasant enough. Madonna shared her brief encounter with the late monarch, "The queen asked me about Bond. I have never met her before, but surprisingly I wasn't nervous."
However, apparently, the Queen had no idea who she was-or her co-star, John Cleese. The "Like A Prayer" singer had difficulties holding back her laugh as the Queen struggled to remember who the singer was, she shared.
Next on the list is Paul McCartney... or Sir Paul McCartney since he, too, had been knighted by the Queen for his "services to music."
It should come as no surprise since he was a member of The Beatles, one of the biggest groups in music history. He was knighted in March 1997.
In a press conference in 1965, McCartney said this about their encounter, "She's lovely, very friendly. [...] She said to me, 'Have you been together long?' And I said 'Yes, many years.' And Ringo said, 'Forty years,' and then she laughed. We all had a little laugh."
In 2022, he congratulated Queen Elizabeth for celebrating her Platinum Jubilee, "70 beautiful years of Queen Elizabeth the second. Congrats, Ma' am!"
Queen-the band-has also met the Queen. In 2002, Brain May performed on the roof of Buckingham Palace for the Queen's Golden Jubilee.
He was once again invited to the Palace for her Platinum Jubilee. A video of Queen Elizabeth clinking her tea cut to the rhythm of Queen's iconic song "We Will Rock" you was viewed on YouTube over six million times, as of this writing.
"I asked for that. I said, 'Would The Queen tap it' and they wouldn't give us an answer. And we didn't know until the day before. They said, 'Oh we might get somebody Royal to do it for you'... After the show, I went on YouTube and saw it and went 'Beautiful!' I loved it, so cool!" He recalled.
Ed Sheeran had a more touching story to tell about his encounter with the Queen, albeit brief. He first met her in 2012 when he performed "The A Team" for her Diamon Jubilee.
The "Shape Of You" singer reminisced the very moment he wanted to pursue music. "20 years ago I decided I wanted to pick up a guitar because I watched the Golden Jubilee on TV, saw Eric Clapton play 'Layla' and said 'that's what I wanna do.'"
And ten years later he met her once again when he performed "Perfect" as a tribute to the Queen and her husband Prince Philip."I'm playing the Platinum Jubilee this Sunday. Life is weird how it keeps coming full circle in lovely ways."
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