“Her Majesty” is a 23-second Paul McCartney mini-song credited to Lennon-McCartney and released on The Beatles’ 1969 album Abbey Road. It is widely recognised as the band’s shortest official recording.
Most listeners discover it as a surprise coda: it arrives after a 14-second pause following “The End” and was not listed on the original Abbey Road sleeve, making it one of the most famous early “hidden track” moments in rock history.
Key Facts
Album Release: 26 September 1969
Recorded: 2 July 1969
Genre: Music hall
Second Engineer: Chris Blair
- Album Release: 26 September 1969
- Recorded: 2 July 1969
- Genre: Music hall
- Track Duration: 0:23
- Record Label: Apple Records
- Songwriters: Lennon-McCartney (written by McCartney)
- Producer: George Martin
- Engineer: Phil McDonald
- Second Engineer: Chris Blair
Performers And Instruments
- Paul McCartney: lead vocals, acoustic guitar
Where To Find “Her Majesty”
You can find “Her Majesty” on the following releases:
- Abbey Road (1969) – the original album master
- Abbey Road (2019 anniversary editions) – “Her Majesty (Takes 1-3)” and “The Long One” trial edit with the song restored to the medley
Her Majesty: Background
McCartney wrote “Her Majesty” as a cheeky music hall-style sketch addressed to Queen Elizabeth II, with deliberately plainspoken lines and a punchline ending. Musically, it is as stripped-back as The Beatles ever got on a released studio album: one voice, one acoustic guitar, recorded quickly and left intentionally unpolished.
The twist is where it was meant to sit. “Her Majesty” was originally assembled as part of the side-two medley, intended to run between “Mean Mr Mustard” and “Polythene Pam.” When McCartney decided he did not want it in the medley, the team physically cut it from the edit.
Instead of binning it, the engineers kept the tape and later attached it to the end of the Abbey Road master, with a short stretch of leader tape before it. Engineer John Kurlander later explained the mindset simply:
“I’d been told never to throw anything away.”
John Kurlander (as quoted in Mark Lewisohn, The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions)
You can actually hear the editing fingerprints. Because it was removed from the middle of a continuous sequence, “Her Majesty” begins with a loud stray chord lifted from the end of “Mean Mr Mustard”, and its final chord turns up at the start of “Polythene Pam” in the finished medley.
The End, But Not Quite!
The Beatles recorded Abbey Road as their last full album project, even though they released Let It Be later. The intended finale is “The End,” with its famous closing couplet and the sense of a deliberate full stop.
Then the record appears to finish… and “Her Majesty” pops up after a brief pause. Early buyers had no tracklisting clue on the sleeve, so it genuinely played like a secret. Critics often cite it as one of the earliest high-profile “hidden track” examples on a major album, and writers still name-check it when they discuss record Easter eggs.
It is also worth separating “Her Majesty” from The Beatles’ other famous end-of-album trick: the Sgt Peppers runout contains an inner groove loop after “A Day in the Life.” That is a looping locked-groove effect on vinyl, not an unlisted extra song like “Her Majesty.”
Recording Session
McCartney recorded “Her Majesty” on July 2, 1969, in Studio Two at EMI Studios, London (now Abbey Road Studios) during the 3:00pm to 9:30pm session. McCartney taped three takes, and the master came from a quick run-through rather than heavy production.
If you want the song in its earlier planned position, there is an official way to hear it: the 2019 Abbey Road anniversary releases include “The Long One” trial edit, which restores “Her Majesty” between “Mean Mr Mustard” and “Polythene Pam”, plus “Her Majesty (Takes 1-3)”.
Lyrics And Meaning
For all the mythology around its placement, the lyric stays intentionally small and human. Instead, it offers simple admiration, a wink, and a slightly tipsy punchline. Coming immediately after the grand sentiment of “The End”, it functions like a comedian stepping onstage after a curtain call and deflating the seriousness on purpose.
Take A Listen
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Sources And References
- The Beatles – Official song facts and hidden-track context
- The Beatles – Abbey Road release date and album context
- The Beatles – 2019 session tracks and “The Long One”
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