WEEKS before the lockdown, AJ proudly took centre stage at the Commonwealth Day service in front of The Queen.
The sportsman won plaudits for his moving speech at Westminster Abbey, in which he spoke proudly of his Nigerian heritage.
The Queen and Anthony Joshua after the annual Commonwealth Service at Westminster Abbey this MarchCredit: AP:Associated Press
But he later struggled to find the right words when introduced to the monarch — admitting she’s “obviously not a boxing fan”.
He explains: “I actually started watching The Crown on Netflix (starring Olivia Colman) in the run up to it, and learnt so much.
“But what I realised from meeting her was that she’s actually such a normal person. Who we see today was once a young lady put in a position where she had to learn her role.
“I just said hello and asked, ‘How are you?’
AJ recalls how in The Crown the Queen meets ordinary people growing up, including a British boxerCredit: AP:Associated Press
“And then I said I know you’re extremely busy so I’m not going to keep you too long — and I told her that her dress matched her eyes really well.”
He laughs: “l wasn’t flirting with her! She was very respectful, thanked me for coming and said I had made a lovely speech.
“I wasn’t really expecting her to say, ‘Oh by the way, knock out that Fury!’
“But in The Crown there’s a part where she’s encouraged to meet ordinary people as she’s growing up and one of them is a British champion boxer.
“In the show she looks at her mum in disgust and I was like, ‘Oh my God, that’s what she thinks of me’.
Anthony Joshua is presented with his OBE by Prince Charles in 2018
“She definitely wasn’t impressed and I knew that when meeting her there wasn’t much I could really do to impress her.”
But he hopes the other royals he met on the day may prove valuable allies, as he adds: “William and Harry are clearly good guys.
“I really want to do a lot more work with them, giving something back — but all in good time.”
Anthony Joshua gives moving speech in front of the Royal Family at Westminster Abbey about his heritage
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
