Eric Clapton Called Himself Lancelot in His Love Triangle With George Harrison and Pattie Boyd
Eric Clapton compared himself to Lancelot in his love triangle with George Harrison and his first wife, Pattie Boyd. From the moment the Cream guitarist saw George and Boyd’s dynamic, he wanted it. Eventually, he did.
Eric Clapton felt like Lancelot in his love triangle with George Harrison and Pattie Boyd
Boyd met George on the set of The Beatles’ A Hard Day’s Night in 1964. He proposed to her that day. Once they started dating, everything came to Boyd faster, but being the girlfriend and later wife of a Beatle wasn’t always a walk in the park.
The pair married in 1966 and almost acted like one person. They learned about spirituality together and lived a normal, private life. When Clapton started hanging out with George more, he saw the couple’s dynamic.
In Martin Scorsese’s documentary, George Harrison: Living in the Material World, Clapton said, “When I saw George and Pattie together, the way they fit into The Beatles thing of all of their domesticity it seemed to be like Camelot, you know.
“It was like-and I was the Lancelot in a way. I was kinda this lone wolf without really any direction… I think we shared a lot of tastes too. You know, in the superficial things, cars or clothes, and women obviously.”
Clapton officially started his love triangle in 1970
Eventually, Clapton fell in love with Boyd. However, he didn’t know how to tell her, so he began writing her love letters. In 1970, Boyd received a letter with the words “express” and “urgent” written on the envelope.
“Inside I found a small piece of paper… I read: ‘Dearest l, as you have probably gathered, my own home affairs are a galloping farce, which is rapidly degenerating day by intolerable day . . . it seems like an eternity since I last saw or spoke to you!’
“He needed to ascertain my feelings: I’d I still love my husband or did I have another lover? More crucially, did I still have feelings in my heart for him? He had to know, and urged me to write. ‘Please do this, whatever it may say, my mind will be at rest . . .’all my love, E.'”
Boyd assumed it was from “some weirdo.” Still, Boyd showed the love letter to George who laughed and dismissed it. That evening, Boyd got a call from Clapton. He said, “Did you get my letter?”
According to The Telegraph, in his love letters, Clapton addressed Boyd as Layla, another legendary figure. They were all addressed to “Layla,” “a reference to an ancient Arabian love story.” In one letter, Clapton wrote, “If you want me, take me, I am yours.”
Clapton later wrote Boyd a song named “Layla.”
Eventually, Lancelot got Layla
Boyd and Clapton secretly met one day, and the guitarist played the model “Layla.” It perfectly explained Clapton and his love triangle.
“He switched on the tape machine, turned up the volume and played me the most powerful, moving song I had ever heard,” Boyd said. “It was Layla, about a man who falls hopelessly in love with a woman who loves him but is unavailable.
“He played it to me two or three times, all the while watching my face intently for my reaction. My first thought was: ‘Oh God, everyone’s going to know this is about me.'”
Eventually, Boyd stopped resisting Clapton’s advances. She and George split up in 1974 and officially divorced in the late 1970s. Boyd married Clapton in 1979, but he wasn’t always faithful. The pair divorced in 1989.
