“Our last meeting came in 2018. Because of my respect and love for the queen and her fabulous sense of humor when I was given the Companion of Honour medal, I shook her hand, leaned in, and said, ‘We have got to stop meeting like this,’ to which she giggled slightly and got on with the ceremony. I did wonder if I was a bit too cheeky after saying this, after all, this was the queen, but I have a feeling she didn’t mind.”
(you can read Paul's lip at the end of the video below)
“On the sad occasion of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s passing, my memories came flooding back and I would like to share these with you,” McCartney wrote on his official website.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CiSybiWDgw3/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
“I feel privileged to have been alive during the whole of Queen Elizabeth II’s reign. When I was 10 years old I entered an essay competition in Liverpool and won my division for my essay about the British Monarchy so I have been a fan for a long time. In 1953 when the Queen was crowned everyone on our street in Speke, Liverpool finally got a television set and we settled down to watch the Coronation in glorious black and white.”
Over the course of his career, McCartney, who wrote the Beatles’ “Her Majesty” for the monarch, estimates he met Queen Elizabeth II “eight or nine times,” and “each time she impressed me with her great sense of humor combined with great dignity.”
Paul has given incredible service to British culture, so it could be a very fitting tribute and mark of all that he has done for his country.
Sir Paul was knighted 25 years ago, before being appointed Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour in 2017 for services to music.
Membership is granted to those who have made a major contribution to the arts, science, medicine, or government over a long period.
Peerages are rarely bestowed upon musicians. Andrew Lloyd Webber and the late composer Benjamin Britten are among the few who have received one.
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Twenty years after he was knighted by the Queen, Sir Paul has been bumped up the honours list for services to music.
Watch Sir Paul McCartney and Wife Nancy paid tribute to his parents as he was made a Companion of Honour for services to music.
Former Liverpool boxer John Conteh, 66, is also being honoured with an MBE for services to boxing.
The former world light-heavyweight champion who held the title between 1974 and 1978 expressed surprise and said "it's an absolute privilege".In a written statement to the Press Association, Sir Paul said: “I see this as a huge honour for me and my family and I think of how proud my Liverpool mum and dad would have been to see this.”
"I never even thought about the possibility of getting an honour - where I grew up the only letters you got were from the DHSS," he said.
He remains a respected figure in the sport for his charity work and his involvement with the London ex-Boxers' Association.
Conteh, who began boxing at the age of 10, added: "Here I am today, still involved in the sport and with all these letters after my name. I've got the WBC and now I've got the MBE - how much more could I possibly want?"
Sir Paul, who was knighted in the Queen's 1997 New Year Honours, will now be able to wear the initials CH after his name.
Founded in 1917, the Order of the Companions Honour is awarded for service of conspicuous national importance and is limited to 65 people.
The man who, with John Lennon, wrote some of the most popular songs in history has had the most successful solo musical career of The Beatles and is now treated as rock royalty.
His former bandmate and only other living Beatle Sir Ringo Starr received a knighthood earlier this year.
Retired ballerina and Strictly Come Dancing judge Darcey Bussell was also honoured st the ceremony as she became a dame for services to dance.
Recipients also included former English cricketer Clare Connor, who collected a CBE, former alpine skier Sarah Lewis, OBE, and Holocaust survivor Dr Martin Stern, MBE.
