Emmanuel Eboue is often cited by players as their funniest ever team-mate and his meeting with the late Queen offers an insight as to why that is so often the case.
The defender spent almost a decade with Arsenal, making more than 200 appearances over his seven-year spell in north London. During that time, he was part of the Gunners squad who visited Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace in 2007.
Following the passing of the United Kingdom’s longest reigning monarch last week, tributes have been flooding in, with private stories offering a glimpse at her personality. And Eboue may not have been at the top of the list to provide a tale of his own, but recalled a hilarious moment when he met Her Majesty.
In a revealing interview with the Telegraph six years ago, the former Sunderland full-back discussed his encounter with the Queen, where he offered to hang up his boots in exchange for looking after her beloved corgis. And despite ignoring his captain’s request, the host saw the funny side of his request.
He explained: “We went there and Thierry Henry said to me: ‘Please, Emmanuel, this is Buckingham Palace, it’s the Queen’s house, don’t do anything.' 'No problem,’ I said. ‘Don’t worry’.
“So the Queen came in and went along shaking each player’s hand. After she’d finished I saw all her corgis so I said, ‘Ma’am, Ma’am’. She turned back and asked, ‘How are you?’ and I said, ‘Ma’am, I am OK thank you but please, I don’t want to be a footballer any more, I want to look after your dogs.
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“I want to take them for walks, wash them, feed them. I want to be a dog carer. The Queen, honestly, she was laughing. Prince Philip was laughing too. All the team were laughing.”
Following her passing, it has been confirmed that the Queen’s latest pair of corgis, Muick and Sandy, will be cared for by her son Prince Andrew and his ex-wife. It is believed the pair were given to the Duke of York last year and will remain in his care.
And Eboue’s offer wasn’t the only revelation to be produced from Arsene Wenger ’s squad making the visit, with Cesc Fabregas claiming the Queen pledged her allegiance to the Gunners. “It seems the Queen follows football and she told us she was an Arsenal fan,” he told Spanish radio. “She appeared to definitely know who I was and we exchanged a few special words.”
There is some debate over whether she did actually follow Arsenal however and although she was said to not be the biggest fan of the sport, she was also said to be fond of West Ham.
A Windsor Castle source told the Mirror in 2012 that the Queen mentioned the Hammers after overhearing staff discussing their staunch local rivals Millwall in her presence. “The Queen has never wanted people to know who she supports because she wants to be seen to be neutral.
"But she gave up her secret after overhearing one of her staff members saying he was a Millwall fan and was talking to another member of staff about the derby between West Ham and their arch rivals.”
