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Michael Owen has revealed the mortifying moment he was 'b******ed' by the Queen after squeezing into a packed lift with her at Royal Ascot.

The former England striker has a passionate interest in horse racing and was desperately trying to observe etiquette on a visit to the sport's blue-riband event.

Writing in his new autobiography, Owen recalls: 'When she [the Queen] walked into the royal lift there were perhaps 15 of us outside.

Michael Owen, pictured with his horse Brown Panther, a winner at Royal Ascot, has revealed how he was once the target of the Queen's sharp wit as he squeezed into the royal lift

'"Come on", she said, "We can all squeeze in".

'I obeyed, taking my hat off as I thought that correct etiquette.

"If you'd put your hat back on", she said, voice raised, "we might all fit in!"

'I sheepishly put my hat on. I was mortified. To this day I have absolutely no idea if she was joking.

'[Wife] Louise was nudging me from the other side trying not to laugh because I'd been b******ed by the Queen.'

Owen removed his top hat when he squeezed into the lift, only for the Queen to wind him up 

Owen met the Queen long before his encounter at Ascot - he's pictured here in 1998

Michael Owen: Reboot – My Life, My Time has caused plenty of controversy

Ex-Liverpool and Manchester United forward Owen also reveals in Reboot - My Life, My Time how he was eager to make the right impression during a pre-race meal at Windsor Castle.

He writes: 'I was careful to hold my fork in the correct hand and so on.

'I needn't have worried. The Queen was throwing bits of starter to her corgis!'

Owen has long been involved in racing and also revealed in the book how a shared love of the sport helped persuade Sir Alex Ferguson to sign him for Manchester United.

Ferguson wanted Owen when he was making his mark as a youngster and had talks with him in 1993 with Manchester City, Arsenal and Chelsea also keen on the teenage striker who eventually chose Liverpool.

From there he went to Real Madrid and Newcastle, earning 89 England caps and scoring 40 goals for his country along the way.

In 2009, Owen was a free agent after the expiry of his Newcastle United contract and was considering his options. It was at this point, 16 years after his first attempt, Fergie got his man. 

The striker, who'd suffered from a series of injuries, was stunned to be the subject of interest from the reigning Premier League champions. 

Owen did everything to try to impress Ferguson when they met at his house, from wearing his smartest clothes to arriving 10 minutes early.

'Obviously I knew him given our shared interest and connections in horse racing, so we probably spent more time talking about racing than football in that first meeting,' Owen recalls.

'Strangely, I don't think he ever directly said that he wanted to sign me. It was just assumed on both sides. I left knowing that I was probably about to become a Manchester United player.'

United were only willing to pay Owen, a free signing, £20,000 a week but the striker admits: 'I'd probably have signed for five grand a week!'

Former Newcastle and England team-mates Owen and Alan Shearer had a row on Twitter after the release of the ex-Liverpool and Real Madrid striker's book

Owen's book also caused a storm when he criticised former team-mate David Beckham for his red card against Argentina at the 1998 World Cup - the match in which Owen announced himself on the biggest stage with a wonder goal before England lost on penalties.

There was also a row with another old colleague, Alan Shearer, when Owen criticised Newcastle fans in his autobiography and a Twitter spat between the former strikers kicked off.