Brian May has said he was “very proud” of the moment when the Queen tapped to the tune of We Will Rock You in the Paddington Bear comedy sketch.
Her Majesty was celebrating her Platinum Jubilee in June when she played the intro to Queen’s famous song by using a teaspoon to chime a teacup to the beat along with the beloved children’s character.
The military band then beat their drums leading singer-songwriter Adam Lambert in while Queen guitarist May came up from below the stage to play at Buckingham Palace in an iconic moment.
Speaking on Good Morning Britain on Tuesday, May said he did not personally persuade the late Queen but had the idea along with the BBC to get her involved.
The 75-year-old guitarist said: “It’s a very proud moment, really.
“Somebody had to arrange it, and obviously I thought the best way to start this thing with We Will Rock You (as) it’s the most recognisable thing, it’s the most iconic thing.
“And I just thought wouldn’t it be great if we had the guards playing it, the military band playing it.
“So I did a little demo of how I thought (it) could be and then I thought, well, ‘Wouldn’t it be great if the Queen could start it?’
“Now I think probably the BBC had the same idea. I think probably great minds had a single thought.
“But they didn’t actually come back to me. They said, ‘No, no, no, we can’t talk about this. We can’t talk about this’.”
He said he then asked about another person from the royal family doing the We Will Rock You intro but was still not sure about how it could go until the evening before the Platinum Party at the Palace.
May added: “There was a deafening silence for a long time until the evening before the show.
“And then finally we were told, ‘Yes, we got her Majesty.’
“I actually asked her to be tapping a pencil, but they got her doing the teacups, which I think was a masterstroke.
“And of course, Paddington Bear was the icing on the cake.
“I didn’t think of that, the BBC thought of that or somebody thought of that.”
When the Queen died in September, at the age of 96, she had become synonymous with Paddington Bear and people left marmalade sandwiches and teddy bear toys of the character at royal sites.
May also kicked off a show, playing a rock rendition of the National Anthem, at Buckingham Palace for the Queen’s Golden Jubilee in 2002.
The band Queen will release a reissue of the band’s 13th album The Miracle, first released in 1989.
The Miracle collector’s edition will be available from November 18.
