Sir Paul McCartney thought Queen Elizabeth was a “babe” the first time they met.
The Beatles legend has relived his first visit to Buckingham Palace ahead of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee to honour the 96-year-old monarch's 70-year-reign on the throne.
The 79-year-old music legend spoke to CBS's Gayle King for 'Her Majesty The Queen: A Gayle King Special' and recalled how he and his bandmates - George Harrison, John Lennon and Sir Ringo Starr - thought Her Majesty “was a good looking woman" when they received their MBEs from her in 1965.
Gayle asked: “Like a babe?", to which he responded: “Yeah, just like a babe.
“We were preteen boys in Liverpool.
“She looked like a film star to us.”
As working class boys from Liverpool, the 'Let it Be' hitmakers never thought it would be possible to meet the Queen - let alone be awarded an MBE.
He added: “No, you see we were just working class boys and she's the Queen, so there's an ocean or two between us
“So I never thought we would until we became The Beatles and we got rather famous.
“You're told not to shake her hand, you call her ‘ma'am’ not ‘your majesty’ and you know if she stops on the line and talks to you, talk to her, otherwise shut up.”
The two surviving members of the band, McCartney and Starr, 81, were later awarded knighthoods.
The former received his in 1997 from Queen Elizabeth at Buckingham Palace.
And drummer Ringo was knighted for his services to music by Prince William in 2018, 21 years after his bandmate.
‘Her Majesty The Queen: A Gayle King Special’ airs tonight (2.06.22) at 10 p.m. on CBS.
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