X-Men star Sir Ian McKellen is not holding back any scathing remark when it comes to Queen Elizabeth II and her Royal Family.
McKellen told The Times about his less-than-pleasant and “very rude” interactions with the late Queen Elizabeth II and shared his thoughts on the British royal family.
“On the few occasions I met her, she was quite rude,” he said.
“When I received a medal for acting, she said, ‘You’ve been doing this for an awfully long time.’ I said, ‘Well, not as long as you.’ I got a royal smile for that, but then she said, ‘Does anyone still actually go to the theater?”
“That’s bloody rude when you’re giving someone a medal for acting. It meant, ‘Does anyone care a f**k about you because I don’t. Now off you go!”
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The actor described how, during these meetings, the queen would shake his hand with “some force” that felt more like she was urging him to leave. “It meant, ‘Go! Go!’” he explained.
McKellen back Prince Harry and Meghan Markle
McKellen, who spent much of the summer recovering from a fall during a West End play in London that left him with a fractured wrist and vertebrae, took the time to read Prince Harry’s memoir, Spare. A
fter finishing the book, McKellen expressed his support for the Duke of Sussex: “I’m most definitely on Harry’s side.”
“Imagine being born into the royal family. I’ve been in public life a bit, but these people are in prison. They can’t do anything normal. Can you imagine having to be nice to everyone you talk to?”
McKellen didn’t hold back when discussing Prince Harry’s exit from royal duties and his marriage to Meghan Markle. He speculated that Harry “was probably not bright enough or doesn’t have the right friends to really help himself.”
The X Men star added, “Mind you, he had the pick of all the pretty women in the world. I hope he’s got the right one.”
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He then shared his thoughts on other members of the royal family. “Imagine being born into the royal family. I’ve been in public life a bit, but these people are in prison,” he said.
“Hats off to anyone who manages to stay sane in that world. Like the [late] Duke of Edinburgh managed to do.”
He theorized that the late Prince Philip “was deeply, deeply eccentric and I suspect deeply unhappy.” He continued with his assessment of King Charles, suggesting the current monarch “sort of survives, but he is clearly damaged.”
