A truly wacky encounter with Michael Jackson

Mar 8 2009 by Paul Cole, Sunday Mercury

IT was the knight in shining armour galloping across the courtyard who did it. He leapt from his saddle, pulled a sword from a stone and went down on one knee before Michael Jackson.

Then he handed Excalibur to the excited pop legend, and made him King of England. Jacko, dressed in the bright red and blue uniform of a military dictator, just giggled and grinned.

It was one of those moments when you had to pinch yourself to ensure that you weren’t dreaming – the most surreal meeting I ever had in a long career as a showbiz writer.

The invitation had been simple: would I care to join Michael Jackson for dinner at London’s historic Guildhall ahead of his string of shows at Wembley Stadium, part of 1988’s Bad tour?

Guests of honour at Guildhall banquets are more usually kings and queens, world leaders and politicians. It had been the centre of civic government in Britain for more than 1,000 years.

And, indeed, Jacko was treated like royalty. He became the first commoner ever to enter by the hall’s Royal Entrance, a unique privilege that required the Queen’s personal approval.