Former Liverpool and Manchester United striker Michael Owen was left mortified during an encounter with Queen Elizabeth II at Royal Ascot.
Owen, an 89-cap England international, shared details of the incident in his book. An owner of a number of race horses, the 42-year-old was invited into the royal lift at the Ascot racecourse when the monarch was present.
The death of the Queen on Thursday was met with a number of tributes at that evening's games, with further matches postponed over the weekend. In the days since, plenty of stories about Elizabeth II have been shared, while others - like Owen's - have resurfaced.
"When she [the Queen] walked into the royal lift there were perhaps 15 of us outside," Owen wrote in his book, as relaid by The Sun. “‘Come on,’ she said, ‘We can all squeeze in’.
“I obeyed – taking my hat off as I thought that correct etiquette. ‘If you’d put your hat back on,’ she said, voice raised, ‘we might all fit in!’
“I sheepishly put my hat on. I was mortified. To this day I have absolutely no idea if she was joking. [Owen's wife] Louise was nudging me from the other side trying not to laugh because I’d been b****ked by the Queen.”
Owen was part of a group of 75 England players and staff who met the Queen in a more official situation in 2002. And, according to then-manager Sven-Goran Eriksson, the Ballon d'Or winner - who played for England at three World Cups - was the monarch's favourite player.
"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."
After the full programme of weekend fixtures was postponed, the EFL has confirmed midweek matches will go ahead. However, questions around police availability in the days before the Queen's funeral on September 19 means matches next weekend hang in the balance.
No date has been set for rearranged fixtures as the Premier League attempts to contend with what was already a tight schedule ahead of the World Cup getting underway in November. For teams involved in European competition, the postponed games are not expected to be rescheduled until after the turn of the year, with midweek matchdays before the World Cup all occupied by European or domestic cup fixtures.
