Phil Collins has opened up about his long-standing relationship with the British royals in his new memoir, Not Dead Yet. The 65-year-old singer first got to know that family after he started working with Prince Charles' charities in the 1980s, which led to him becoming part of their "inner sanctum" by 1991. Now, 25 years on, he has now shared some interesting titbits from his run-ins with the royals, from bumping into Princess Diana outside the dentist to his faux-pas with the Queen.
Phil Collins became close the royal family through his work with Prince Charles' charities
According to Us Weekly, the star has revealed he made not one, but two cardinal sins when he was introduced to the monarch at Prince Charles' 40th birthday in November 1988. "The first is to approach the Queen and introduce myself. One has to wait for the Queen to approach one," he confessed. "I also address her as 'Your highness' instead of 'Your Majesty'. Neither faux pas seems to bother her, and she's quite friendly, referring to me as her son's friend, which tickles me to no end."
The musician has revealed he made two errors in etiquette when meeting the Queen
The musician also shared a chance encounter he had with Princess Diana back in 1991, during a visit to his Harley Street dentist with long-time assistant Danny Gillen in tow. "A BMW pulls up and the window slides down," he said. "It's Diana and sitting in the driver's seat, an officer-class chap I recognised as James Hewitt."
The star has also shared details of a chance encounter he had with Princess Diana
Smiling, the royal asked Phil what he was doing in the area. She then said, "light as you like, 'I've just had a colonoscopy. It was great, you should try it.' Danny and I look at each other. 'Did that really just happen?'"