Thierry Henry has admitted he was so nervous when he met Queen Elizabeth II that he forgot the name of an Arsenal teammate.
As the Gunners captain, the Frenchman introduced the late monarch to his squad in February 2007 but found himself stumped when facing strike partner Julio Baptista in the line-up.
“I had the opportunity to meet the Queen and I was nervous as hell,” Henry told CBS. “I remember thinking like I'm about to play a game or something.
“When you are at Buckingham Palace and you are meeting the Queen... I looked at Julio Baptista there and I forgot his name! I was like, ‘Who is that?’.
“Then I'm like, ‘Oh, Julio Baptista from Brazil’, then I went with Gilberto Silva, but I was just nervous. You know when you're nervous you want to go back in your own language? I don't think if I'd spoken French it would have worked...”
Henry added that, as a Londoner for so many years, he “only has respect” for the Queen and her work.
