Elton John is revealing a surprising side of Queen Elizabeth in his new autobiography. In an excerpt released publicly, the legendary musician tells the tale of the time he witnessed the British monarch get physical with a member of the royal family.
John writes that he was attending a party at which the Queen was attending. She asked her nephew, Viscount Linley, to watch his sister, Lady Sarah Armstrong-Jones who wasn’t feeling well and had to leave the party. Wanting to stay at the party, Linley didn’t take well to being asked to babysit and tried to talk back to the Queen.
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“When he [Linley] repeatedly tried to fob her off, the Queen lightly slapped him across the face, saying ‘Don’t’ – slap – ‘argue’ – slap – ‘with’ – slap – ‘me’ – slap – ‘I’ – slap – ‘am’ – slap – ‘THE QUEEN!’,” John writes.
He went on to write, “I know the Queen’s public image isn’t exactly one of wild frivolity, but…in private she could be hilarious.”
In the book, title Me, the 72-year-old tells many other stories about his time around the British royal family, including a time Richard Gere and Sylvester Stalone almost got into a fistfight over Princess Diana when she was newly single.
John has been in the news recently for his connections to the royal family. In August, he came to the defense of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle over a private jet controversy.
The book is being released on October 15. “Elton John reveals the truth about his extraordinary life, from his rollercoaster lifestyle as shown in the film Rocketman, to becoming a living legend,” the book’s description reads.
“His life has been full of drama, from the early rejection of his work with songwriting partner Bernie Taupin to spinning out of control as a chart-topping superstar; from half-heartedly trying to drown himself in his LA swimming pool to disco-dancing with Princess Diana and Queen Elizabeth,” the description continues. “From friendships with John Lennon, Freddie Mercury, and George Michael to setting up his AIDS Foundation to conquering Broadway with Aida, The Lion King, and Billy Elliot the Musical. All the while Elton was hiding a drug addiction that would grip him for over a decade.”
Me is the first autobiography that John has ever published.
