Paul McCartney showed the Queen his art exhibition at Liverpool’s Walker Art Gallery on Thursday, just hours after she met with Yoko Ono, the widow of Macca’s fellow Beatle, John Lennon. Dressed in a dark suit and lavender tie, Sir Paul along with his wife Heather, accompanied the Queen as she took a look at the musician’s first major art show, a collection of 70 paintings created over the last 20 years.
The gallery was closed to the public as the monarch strolled through the installations, viewing a number of pieces from the permanent exhibition including a portrait of her great-great-grandfather Prince Albert. She also met with 20 children who won a Golden Jubilee painting competition.
Earlier in the day, the Queen’s meeting with Yoko took place at the ribbon cutting of a new £32.5 terminal at Liverpool John Lennon Airport, where a seven-foot bronze statue of the Tokyo-born artist’s late husband stands in commemoration. During her airport visit, at which she and Yoko unveiled a plaque to declare the terminal officially open, the monarch also chatted with the statue’s sculptor, local artist Tom Murphy, and was greeted by children from nearby schools.
“It is such an honour to meet the Queen,” said Yoko, who wore a white suit and dark sunglasses for the meeting. “John would have been very proud and honoured.” Liverpool John Lennon Airport was renamed earlier this year in honour of the late Beatle, who was fatally shot outside his New York apartment in 1980.
Photo: © Alphapress.com
John Lennon's widow Yoko Ono greets the Queen as sculptor Tom Murphy, who designed the seven-foot bronze statue of the late musician at Liverpool John Lennon airport, looks on
Photo: © PA
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Later in the day, Sir Paul McCartney and his wife Heather showed the monarch around Liverpool's Walker Art Gallery, where the former Beatle is displaying 70 of his paintings publicly for the first time
Photo: © PA
