Queen forced to deny Simon Cowell snub
The Queen has been forced to deny that she snubbed Simon Cowell at the Royal Variety Performance.
Speaking on Jay Leno's US chat show, the X Factor judge claimed that the Queen ignored him as he lined up to meet her at the event in 2007, and that Prince Phillip called him a sponger.
He explained, 'It was actually embarrassing. She (the Queen) came on at the end of the show. She ignored me and her husband called me a sponger. It was a bit awkward.'
Now Buckingham Palace has officially rebuked the story, with a spokesman stating, 'The Queen had to meet a huge line-up of people at the performance and can't engage every person at every event. But she doesn't ignore people.'
The furore first erupted this week, with Piers Morgan describing the meeting in published extracts of this new memoir.
Morgan claims that the Queen, 'didn't have a clue' who Cowell was, adding that she 'shook his hand with a bemused half-smile and moved swiftly on to me'.
The Prince allegedly then called Cowell a sponger in reference to his role in Britain's Got Talent winner, Paul Potts', career.
On the incident, Cowell added during his interview, 'I think he was trying to be rude. So I just mumbled something and he walked off.'
Again, the Palace has spoken out on Cowell's claims, confirming, 'I spoke to the Duke of Edinburgh and he has no idea what this is about.
'He told me, 'I did not say anything of the sort. I wouldn't call anyone a sponger. Why would I call him that?''
Watch Simon Cowell's Leno interview below:
