WhenQueen Elizabeth IIdied Thursday at age 96, she left behind a legacy not only as Britain’s longest-reigning monarch, but as one of the most prestigious audience members an A-list musician could play for.
FromLady Gagaand Brian May to the Beatles, Judy Garland and Ed Sheeran, stars have long coveted the chance to play for Elizabeth, be it at public celebrations or private fêtes.
“I’ve grown up with this woman. I was 7 when she came to the throne, so she’s always been part of my life, and the fact that I’ve met her on several occasions makes it even more important for me,” Rod Stewartsaid in Juneof being asked to play this year’s Platinum Jubilee. “I’m so happy just to be a part of it, because there was a point where I thought, ‘Oh no, they don’t want me,’ and I was over the moon when I was signed on.”
Stewart, 77, went on to recall a 2007 concert at St. James’s Palace in London, in which he played for the queen and her late husband, theDuke of Edinburgh.
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“They were sitting 10 yards away, and they looked terrified because they thought I was gonna do ‘Do Ya Think I’m Sexy?,’ ‘Hot Legs,’ real loud music,” he said. “And I started off, ‘You must remember this, a kiss is just a kiss…’ They were so relieved they beamed from ear to ear.”
Here, read more stories of music royalty’s treasured interactions with British royalty.
Madonna
Madonna and Queen Elizabeth.Anwar Hussein/Getty
The “Material Girl” singer met Elizabeth in 2002, at the London premiere of the James Bond movieDie Another Day, for which she sang the title song and featured in a cameo. Their interaction was captured on video, and shows Madonna giving the monarch a curtsy as they shake hands.
After their meeting, the starbroke down their interactionto Reuters: “The queen asked me about Bond. I have never met her before, but surprisingly I wasn’t nervous.”
The Beatles
“She’s lovely… very friendly,” McCartney said at a1965 press conferenceof meeting Elizabeth. “She said to me, ‘Have you been together long?’ And I said ‘Yes, many years.’ And Ringo said, ‘Forty years,’ and then she laughed. We all had a little laugh.”
The Beatles later immortalized the monarch in song with “Her Majesty,” a 23-second track on the seminalAbbey Road. Decades later, McCartneyperformed the ditty for Elizabethas part of the Golden Jubilee celebrations in 2002. The “Band on the Run” singer went on to play at several other special events, including the Diamond Jubilee in 2012 and the Platinum Jubilee.
“What the generation now can’t understand is that guys my age, we were like, what, 14? Very formative teenage years, and the Queen was sort of, 24 or something,” McCartney told60 Minutes Australiain 2017. “So to us, she was a babe! There was a certain lustfulness in us teenagers for Her Majesty… So we grew up loving the Queen for various reasons. I mean now, I’ve been lucky enough to meet her. I just think she’s a great woman.”
Judy Garland
Queen Elizabeth and Judy Garland in 1957.AP Photo
Back in 1957, Judy Garland sang"Somewhere Over the Rainbow"for Elizabeth and her husband Philip at the 1957 Royal Variety Performance. A photo shows a smiling Elizabeth meeting Garland at the event.
The two would go on to meet several more times over the years, and in 1972, the Queen was photographed at a London gala shaking hands with Garland’s daughterLiza Minnelli, who performed for her at the London Palladium.
Barbra Streisand
In a memorable red carpet appearance, Barbra Streisand exchanged a hand shake and a few words with Elizabeth at the London premiere ofFunny Ladyin 1975, alongside costarJames Caan.
Years later, in 2018, Streisandexpressed frustrationwith the way then-President Donald Trump treated Elizabeth during a visit to London, and even channeled her emotions into the albumWalls.
“To walk ahead ofQueen Elizabeth, that was shocking,” she said at the time. “She’s 92 years old. Where are his manners? That’s what I’d like to know. Where are his manners? That kind of lack of dignity — [he] does not deserve to be President of the United States.”
Spice Girls
The “Wannabe” singers have a long history ofhanging out with British royals, and have spent time with everyone from King Charles III to Princes William and Harry. But in 1997, the beloved girl group got to meet the Queen herself, at the Royal Command Performance at Victoria Palace Theatre in London
Geri Halliwellshared a throwback photoin June of the moment they met Elizabeth to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee.
“HRH , our Queen ’s 7O years of service and inspirational leadership. 🙏” she captioned the post.
Lady Gaga
Lady Gagahad her royal moment in 2009, when shesang “Speechless"forQueen Elizabethat the Royal Variety Performance in Blackpool, England. The two later shared a handshake, with the “Applause” singer dressed for the occasion in an elaborate red latex dress.
Brian May
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran, Queen Elizabeth II and Kylie Minogue in 2012.Dave Thompson - WPA Pool/Getty
Ed Sheeran first met Elizabeth in 2012, when he played his hit “The A Team” for her Diamond Jubilee. Ten years later, he performed in front of Buckingham Palace once more, singing “Perfect” as a tribute to the Queen and her late husband at the Platinum Jubilee.
Sheeran said on Instagram at the time that it was her Golden Jubilee that inspired him to become a songwriter in the first place.
“20 years ago I decided I wanted to pick up a guitar because I watched the Golden Jubilee on tv, saw Eric Clapton play Layla and said ‘that’s what I wanna do,'” he wrote on Instagram. “10 years later I played The A Team at the Diamond Jubilee, and now 10 years on I’m playing the Platinum Jubilee this Sunday. Life is weird how it keeps coming full circle in lovely ways.”
source: people.com
