Paul McCartney pays tribute to the Queen with a throwback snap ahead of her Platinum Jubilee

Paul McCartney has paid tribute to Her Majesty The Queen in a throwback snap, posting to his 3.8million Instagram followers on Thursday.

The 79-year-old Beatles star posted a snap of him and Her Majesty from 1996 at the royal opening of the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts.⁣ 

Clutching onto a bouquet of flowers, The Queen beamed in a dusty blue ensemble, next to an equally as cheerful Paul – who donned a suit.

Sharing the snap, Paul wrote: ’70 beautiful years of Queen Elizabeth the second. Congrats ma’ am! And thanks – Paul⁣’

The Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts was created by Paul and around 2,000 sponsors – with The Queen officially opening the centre.

But it wasn’t a first meet for the pair, as Paul and his bandmates were invited to Buckingham Palace in 1965, where they were all awarded with MBEs – with Paul later being awarded a knighthood.

And Paul was awarded another honour in 2018, as he once again stood before Her Majesty to be made a Companion Of Honour for his contribution to music.

He is only one of a few musicians to receive the recognition, including Vera Lynn and opera singer Janet Baker. 

The post comes after Paul reflected on the wild experience with CBS’s Gayle King for Her Majesty The Queen: A Gayle King Special. 

Describing the meet, the musician explained: ‘She looked like a film star to us.’ 

Sharing protocol during the experience, he continued: ‘You’re told not to shake her hand, you call her ‘ma’am’ not ‘your majesty’ and you know if she stops on the line and talks to you, talk to her.’

Gayle then questioned ‘Otherwise?’, to which Paul jokingly replied: ‘Otherwise, shut up.’