Sir Ian McKellen described the late Queen Elizabeth II as “quite rude” and said the British royal family “can’t do anything normal,” declaring in a recent interview that he was siding with Prince Harry in his rift with the crown.
In a lengthy interview with The Times in which the legendary actor held little back, McKellen said that whenever he met the late queen, she would shake his hand like she was pushing him away. “It meant, ‘Go! Go!’” McKellen said.
“The Queen, I’m sure she was quite mad at the end,” he said. “And on the few occasions I met her she was quite rude. When I received a medal for acting [the Companion of Honour in 2008], 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 theatre?’”
ADVERTISEMENT
He continued: “That’s bloody rude when you’re giving someone a medal for acting. It meant, ‘Does anyone care a fuck about you because I don’t. Now off you go!’”
McKellen spent much of the summer recovering from a fall off a stage during a play in London’s West End, in which he fractured a wrist and a vertebrae. During his convalescence, he read a number of books, including Prince Harry’s memoir, Spare—a damning exposé of the royal family. “I’m most definitely on Harry’s side,” McKellen said.
“Imagine being born into the royal family,” he said. “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?”
Harry stepped back from his role as a working royal in 2020, less than two years after his marriage to Meghan Markle, whom he has accused his family of mistreating. McKellen said Harry was “probably not bright enough or doesn’t have the right friends to really help himself.”
“Mind you, he had the pick of all the pretty women in the world. I hope he’s got the right one,” McKellen said.
McKellen continued his thoughts on the royal family by theorizing that the late Prince Philip “was deeply, deeply eccentric and I suspect deeply unhappy.” “Same with the present king [King Charles]. He sort of survives, but he is clearly damaged,” McKellen said.
“Hats off to anyone who manages to stay sane in that world,” he said.
