Crocodile Dundee actor Paul Hogan reveals why the Queen apologized to him as he reflects on the time he wore shorts and cut off sleeves when he met Her Majesty: “I’ve taken a lot of criticism for but she didn’t mind.”
- Paul Hogan recalled the time he met the Queen and Prince Philip in 1980
- He greeted Her Majesty in a cut-off flannel shirt, shorts and foot socks
- Hogan told A Current Affair he was upset about it, but the Queen didn’t mind.
- The Crocodile Dundee star said she apologized for turning down his offer to dinner
Legendary Australian actor Paul Hogan has reflected on the controversial moment when he met the Queen after a show wearing only a flannel shirt and shorts cut off – and how she apologized to him for turning down his offer to dinner.
The Crocodile Dundee star sat down for an interview with A Current Affair host Tracy Grimshaw – her last before she leaves Nine’s flagship program after 17 years.
It comes as Hogan, 83, is releasing a new book, Australia According to Hoges, which has been described as a “love letter to Down Under”.
Grimshaw brought up a photo from the book of Hogan meeting the Queen after performing at the Royal Charity Concert at the Sydney Opera House in 1980.
Legendary Australian actor and comedian Paul Hogan met the Queen and Prince Philip at the Sydney Opera House in 1980 wearing a cut-off flannel shirt, shorts and foot socks
When they met, Hogan donned a cut-off flannel shirt, short shorts, and foot socks.
“I love this shot,” said the comedian. “I got a lot of criticism about it, but the Queen didn’t mind.”
Hogan said in previous interviews that “everyone was horrified” by what he was wearing when he met the royals that night – with the exception of the Queen.
In a 2020 interview with Jonesy and Amanda, he explained that it was his “summer work uniform.”
“The shorts and the torn shirt were the standard uniform for construction workers (and) laborers in the ’70s,” he joked.
Hogan (pictured) reflected on his time meeting Her Majesty in a special interview with A Current Affair’s Tracy Grimshaw
Paul Hogan is pictured with his second wife Linda Kozlowski during the 2000 Carousel Ball in Beverly Hills, California, USA. The couple divorced in 2014 after 25 years
Hogan told Grimshaw that during the same meeting, the late Queen apologized to him after she “won” a prize for a dinner at his home.
“The show we did at the opera house to entertain them was part of the thing I did pretending to pull the lucky seat prize,” he said.
“I pulled out two names who were obviously the Queen and Philip and said the prize they won was dinner at my place and told them how to get there, what bus to take and all that stuff – everything was funny.’
“But when I met her, she leaned over to me and said, ‘I’m sorry honey, I don’t think we can make dinner,’ which is great, she has a sense of humor.”
Hogan also addressed his chronic health struggle, revealing that he’d lost a lot of weight and was “held together with string.”
Hogan now lives in California in the US with his son Chance (pictured together)
To date, Crocodile Dundee is Australia’s highest-grossing film of all time
“I had a problem with the aorta and kidney and the treatment fixed it, but it shrunk me,” he said.
The Australian explained that he had lost all body fat and that his muscles were “shrinking” making him weak.
Hogan claimed he was “fit” until age 79, but after age 80 his condition deteriorated rapidly.
“I’d still knock out most 40-year-olds when I turned 80 and there’s a saying that turning 80 isn’t for sissies because things are starting to fall apart, but no, I can’t complain.”
Hogan now resides in California, USA, with his son Chance.