Queen Elizabeth II: Arsenal Legend Thierry Henry Recalls Encounter With Fallen Monarch at Buckingham Palace

Queen Elizabeth II: Arsenal Legend Thierry Henry Recalls Encounter With Fallen Monarch at Buckingham Palace

Martin Moses
updated at April 12, 2023 at 8:11 PM
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  • Thierry Henry has revealed that he was so nervous when he met Queen Elizabeth II that he forgot his teammate's name
  • Henry was Arsenal's captain when he took his side to meet the Queen at her residence in 2007
  • The retired striker recounted fond memories of what the Queen meant to the British people following her death last week

Tributes have continued to stream in from all corners of the world following the death of Queen Elizabeth II last week.

United Kingdom's longest-serving Monarch passed on last week at her Balmoral Castle in Scotland. Those who had the rare opportunity to interact with her up close have relived their encounters as plans continue for her funeral.

Thierry Henry, Queen Elizabeth II, Buckingham Palace, Arsenal
Thierry Henry introduces members of his Arsenal squad to Queen Elizabeth during a visit to Buckingham Palace in 2007. Photo by Fiona Hanson.
Source: Getty Images

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One such person is Thierry Henry who took his then Arsenal side to the Queen's official residence at Buckingham Palace on her invitation. Henry was Arsenal's captain then and as Daily Mail reports, he was very nervous.

It was my duty to introduce everybody as Arsenal captain. When you are at Buckingham Palace and you are meeting the Queen -I looked at Julio Baptista and forgot his name! I was like "who is that?"

The Queen had invited Arsenal to the Palace after she had failed to make it to the opening of the Emirates Stadium a year earlier after falling sick. Arsenal remains the only club that was hosted by the Queen at her official residence.

How Emmanuel Eboue made Queen Elizabeth II laugh during Arsenal's visit to Buckingham Palace

The visit is also synonymous with the Queen also setting time aside to get involved in other activities like sports. She was at hand to present England's World Cup trophy in 1966. She similarly hosted Arsenal at Buckingham Palace in 2007.

Sports Brief had reported that during this visit, Emmanuel Eboue, a former Arsenal midfielder, made the Queen laugh when he asked her if he could quit his job as a professional footballer to take care of the Queen's dogs.

Ironically, Henry had asked Eboue beforehand to behave himself in front of the Queen

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Martin Moses
Martin Moses is a sports journalist with over five years of experience in media. He graduated from Multimedia University of Kenya (Bachelor of Journalism, 2017-2021)
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