Phil Collins’ Embarrassment in Front of Queen Elizabeth II

Phil Collinsthat the latest news give to work on new music after more than twenty years, some time ago he experienced a very embarrassing moment in front of Queen Elizabeth II when he whistled behind her back the theme song from Steven Spielberg’s 1977 film ‘Close Encounters of the Third Kind’.

They had just finished talking when Queen Elizabeth, who died in September 2022 at the age of 96, heard Collins whistling and asked him: “What was that?” The radio presenter Terry Woganwho was standing next to Collins, interjected, jokingly saying, “He was calling ET.”

The incident was recounted in the new book by
Craig Brown
“A Voyage Around The Queen”. Wogan later admitted that he regretted his remark almost immediately. The Queen, however, merely said a terse “Ah” and moved on.

Subsequently, it was reported,
Phil Collins
asked Wogan: “Why did I do it?” Wogan attributed his unusual behaviour to what he called ‘The Royal effect’, explaining: “You say the first thing that comes into your head and you take it to the grave as a reminder of your stupidity.”

The author of the book,
Craig Brown
recalled that this was not the only incident that happened in front of the Queen, many people who met Elizabeth II found themselves behaving in an unusual manner or saying things that they later wished they had not said.

Even the
Beatles
they had moments of nervousness or embarrassment in the presence of the Queen.
John Lennon
He admitted that his mind was completely blank when he met Her Majesty.