Why Shawn Mendes’ Encounter With Queen Elizabeth, Prince Harry And Meghan Markle Was Awkward

As one of the most popular music artists of his generation, Shawn Mendes has met his share of other high-profile celebs. But members of the British royal family, such as Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, are on a totally different level of fame that meeting them was a bit awkward even for the Canadian singer.

Speaking on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” Mendes recounted how he met the British monarch. The Canadian crooner, along with other celebrities, was asked to perform during the Queen’s 92nd birthday party last year, according to The Sun.

Being half British, Mendes has known a few etiquettes to follow when meeting Queen Elizabeth or other members of the royal family, such as Harry and Meghan. One of these rules is to only speak when Her Majesty initiates the conversation.

Thus, when Mendes met the Queen for the first time, he remained tight-lipped. “I’m in this backstage area and I’m standing there waiting to go on stage and the Queen just walks up next to me,” the singer narrated. “And, you can’t say anything, you’re not allowed to speak to her unless she speaks to you first.”

Unfortunately, the monarch never uttered a single word the entire time, resulting in one awkward encounter. “So it was like 10 minutes of just awkward silence between me and the Queen,” Mendes recalled.

It might be even possible that the monarch didn’t recognize Mendes at all. “She didn’t look at me at all, I looked over a couple of times and I was like, I probably shouldn’t be looking,” the Canadian celebrity said. “It was super weird, she didn’t say anything.”

Aside from meeting Queen Elizabeth, Mendes also narrated how he met the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. “I was walking down the hall and I saw them in a room, and they’re just talking,” he told DeGeneres.

But just as he confidently strutted to where Harry and Meghan were, something totally unexpected happened. “And I walked in with this confidence and the second they sort of felt me come in I just turned around and my body went numb and I was like, I can’t do it,” the singer recalled the experience.

Having lost his composure, the singer didn’t stop to chat with the famous royal couple. “I’ve never been so star-struck like that, I walked in and didn’t stop, just walked out in one flow of motion,” Mendes shared.