Calling his divorce a hard day's night is an understatement as far as Paul McCartney's concerned.

Making rare public remarks on his split from Heather Mills to the U.K.'s Radio Times magazine Tuesday, the former Beatle compared the ongoing proceedings to "going through hell."

"Going through divorce is a very painful thing," the 65-year-old McCartney told the publication. "As Winston Churchill once said, 'If you're going through hell, keep going!' The only solution is to remain dignified. If I don't keep a silence about it, I lose this idea of being dignified. But I've a wonderful baby. She's a great joy to me, as are my elder children, so I'm a lucky man."

The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer married Mills, a former model turned anti-land-mine crusader, in 2002. They soon welcomed daughter Beatrice, who turns four this month, but things went south and they separated in May 2006.

The couple appeared in the same room together in London's Royal Courts of Justice Thursday for a hearing, but no settlement was announced.

British media outlets have reported the 39-year-old Mills is seeking anywhere from $40 million to $140 million from Sir Paul, whose personal fortune is said to top $1.6 billion.

Asked how he's been coping in what has turned out to be an extremely contentious divorce, McCartney confessed to finding solace in his songwriting.

"It's been a difficult time," he said. "But music is a great healer. Music is the therapy for me. In fact, going through difficulties has only concentrated my desire to make good music."

While denying reports he was romancing the likes of Renée Zellweger and Christie Brinkley, McCartney did have high praise for one woman—England's 81-year-old monarch, Queen Elizabeth II.

"I've got a lot of time for the queen. She's fun, she's funny, she's amazing. The queen's a babe!" McCartney said. "It's amazing meeting her and thinking she's cool, instead of thinking, What a disappointment! I know what fame is—but she knows what real fame is."

McCartney then recalled an encounter with Her Majesty when the Fab Four was touring Britain in 1964.

"We were in one of those lineups and she was staying at Windsor," he recalled. "And she said, 'Where are you playing tomorrow evening?' I said, 'Slough, ma'am.' And she said, 'Oh, that's just near us!' "

McCartney also recounted the time in 1976 when the Beatles considered reuniting after being offered "phenomenal amounts of money."

"But it just went round and round," he explained. "There might be three of us thinking, You know, it might not be a bad idea. But the other one would go, 'Nah, I don't think so,' and sort of veto it. Let's put it this way: There was never a time when all four of us wanted to do it. And each time it was always someone different who didn't fancy it.

"I'm actually glad of that now, because the Beatles' work is a body of work. There's nothing to be ashamed of there," he said. "In the end we decided we should leave well enough alone. The potential disappointment of coming on and not being as good as the Beatles had been, that was a risk we shouldn't take."

But with fellow geezer acts like the Police and Led Zeppelin getting back together, McCartney did muse on what the Beatles might be like today.

"We'd be gelling, sounding like nothing anyone's ever heard before with all the power of modern amplification," he said.

McCartney also revealed what he's been listening to on his iPod—everything from Fred Astaire, Bob Marley, Neil Young and Bob Dylan to modern rockers Radiohead, the Kaiser Chiefs and Guillemots.

As for his own musical endeavors, McCartney says he'd like to tour again in support of his recent Starbucks-issued album,  Memory Almost Full, once he and Mills work out a divorce settlement.

In the meantime, fans can content themselves with the three-DVD McCartney Years set, containing 40-plus music videos and several live performances,  including his Super Bowl XXXIX halftime show, which is scheduled to hit stores Nov. 13.