Michael Owen might be used to get shouted at by football managers - but nothing could prepare him for a 'b*****king from the Queen.
The former Liverpool and England striker, who is now best known for being the father of Love Island star Gemma Owen, met Her Majesty at a day at the races.
Owen and his wife Louise were the Queen's guests at Royal Ascot back in 2009- but the football pundit was left mortified by his blunder.
"It was amazing. Me and Louise got invited to Windsor Castle, had lunch with the Queen. I was sat next to Prince Philip. brilliant,, amazing day," he explained.
Speaking on On Emily Dean's Walking The Dog podcast in April, Michael explained that he was invited into the royal carriages to come up the race track.
He was given some instructions on royala protocol before meeting the Queen, but confusion around the rules led to an awkward situation.
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"Obviously, beforehand we were givena bit of a prep. 'If Her Majesty does this you do that. If she walks here you sweep round and take your hat off for the national anthem or if she speaks to you'. That's in my mind. 'Got to remember this'.
Their carriage went under the arch an into the parade ring, where the Queen got out to inspect the horses and walk towards the royal lift.
Around 12 guests followed the Queen into the lift and Owen was right at the front so was packed tightly in with Her Majesty.
He explained: "She walks into the lift. I've got my hat off. She says, 'Come on, come on. We'll all fit in here. Squeeze in'.
"I'm first on so I walk in and get reasonably close. Obviously my hat is off as she's talking to me and that's what I was told."
"Anyway, she keeps shouting outside to everyone. 'Come on we've done it before we can get everyone in.' So obviously im getting pushed closer.
"I don't want to invade her personal space but I'm now taking a step closer and I've got my hat off holding it."
The former footballer then felt the full wrath of the Queen when she realised what he was doing.
Owen continued: "She looks at me and she looks down at my hat and says, 'If you put your hat back on we might all be able to fit in this lift.'
"Sorry Ma'am. Put my hat back on. Yeah, b*****ked by the Queen."
Owen was getting nudged by wife Louise, who was trying depserately hard not to laugh, and to this day he does not know whether Her Majesty was joking or not.
Another potentially awkward aspect of the day had been during the pre-race meal at Windsor Castle.
Michael was determined to make sure his table manners were impeccable, but he felt like he shouldn't have worried.
In his book, Reboot, Owen wrote: "I was careful to hold my fork in the correct hand and so on.
"I needn’t have worried. The Queen was throwing bits of starter to her corgis!"
It wasn't the first time that Owen had met the Queen, as he spoke to her at a Buckingham Palace reception for England, Scotland and Jamaican based football squads in October 1998.
Although not a natural football fan, the Queen has been known to become quite animated when following the England team on TV.
He was also part of a reception for the Football Association held at Buckingham Palace in November 2002.
The 75-strong England party, including back-room staff as well as high profile players and management, arrived at the Palace in three coaches.
The drinks-and-canapes reception was staged in the Blue Drawing Room at the Palace where FA chairman Geoffrey Thompson, along with the England coach and captain, were the first to meet the Queen.
Owen had a chance to greet Her Majesty and gave a bow as they shook hands
The Queen 's favourite team has never been confirmed, although there has been the suggestion she has a soft spot for Arsenal.
She did once state that Owen was in fact her favourite player because of his personal hygiene, according to former England manager Sven-Goran Erikkson.
"I was invited to lunch with The Queen with about another 10 people, Eriksson told the 'Sacked in the Morning' podcast. "At a certain point, I asked her if she liked football. She said not really.
"I asked her for her favourite player or team. I thought she would've said Beckham. 'Michael Owen is my favourite player,' she said.
"I asked why and she said: 'He looks so clean'. That was the answer I got and we didn't go on with that discussion."
Owen also tweeted his congratulations to the monarch to makr her Platinum Jubilee last week.
He wrote: "Incredible celebrations for our incredible Queen. Congratulations to Her Majesty on an amazing achievement."
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