The composer spoke with ET about his relationship with the late monarch.
Andrew Lloyd Webber is reminiscing about his relationship with Queen Elizabeth II. ET's Kevin Frazier spoke with the composer before the queen's state funeral service, which took place at Westminster Hall on Monday, where Webber's father served as the director of music in the '60s.
The location was the queen's choice for her final bow, which Webber said is not surprising for an "extraordinary remarkable woman who really would leave nothing to chance."
"[Today's] a day that's almost impossible to put to words really, it's overwhelming," Webber told ET. "I think she's been a source of stability in the world at a time when the world has been, let's face it, pretty unstable. So, she's just been this constant. ... What the queen has done in the last 70 years has been absolutely remarkable and I think her love, particularly of the Commonwealth, and her belief in that is something that I know she would very much hope continues because she had a love of people from absolutely every background, every race, creed, color, whatever. She just loved people."
The Phantom of the Opera composer shared that he and the queen had a "special" relationship that went beyond work, with Webber even writing the song "Sing" for a previous Jubilee. "We put together a choir of racing people -- not the best choir I've ever had but we put that together and she came down to the house and we sang it for her," he recalled.
Webber shared how the queen's "enormous sense of humor" led to a lot of laughs within the royal family, even recounting how his children played a joke on her during a previous visit. According to the musician, remembering the good times is what makes an emotional day more bearable.
"Today is really to think about what this extraordinary woman achieved in her reign and what she really meant to so many people," he said. "I was in New York last week and I couldn't believe how many people came up to me on the street and were visibly moved, and I think that in itself shows what she meant really, not just to Britain but to the whole world."
For more on Her Majesty's death, and Queen Elizabeth II's funeral, check out ET's ongoing coverage.
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