X-Men star Sir Ian McKellen doesn’t hold back when it comes to making scathing comments about Queen Elizabeth II and her royal family.
McKellen told The Times about his unpleasant and “very rude” interaction with the late Queen Elizabeth II and shared his thoughts about the British royal family.
“Whenever I met her, she was quite rude,” he said.
“When I got the medal for acting, he said, ‘You’ve been doing this for a very long time.’ I said, ‘Well, not as long as you.’ That brought a royal smile to my face, but then he said, ‘Does anybody still go to the theatre?’
“It’s very rude when you’re giving someone a medal for acting. It was like, ‘Does anybody care about you because I don’t. Now you go!'”
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The actor revealed that during these meetings, the Queen would shake his hand “a little forcefully”, as if she was telling him to leave. He explained, “It meant, ‘Go! Go!'”
McKellen supports Prince Harry and Meghan Markle
McKellen, who spent much of the summer recovering from an injury suffered in a fall during a West End play in London that fractured his wrist and spine, took time to read Prince Harry’s memoir, Spare.
After finishing the book, McKellen expressed his support for the Duke of Sussex: “I’m 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 being nice to anyone you talk to?”
McKellen made his point while discussing Prince Harry’s stepping down from royal duties and his marriage to Meghan Markle. He speculated that Harry “maybe isn’t that intelligent or doesn’t have the right friends to help himself.”
The X-Men star added, “Mind you, he chose from all the beautiful women in the world. I hope he found the right one.”
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He then shared his thoughts about other members of the royal family. He said, “Imagine you are born into a royal family. I have been in public life a little bit, but these people are in jail.”
“Salute to whoever manages to maintain his sanity in that world. As [late] The Duke of Edinburgh managed to do that.”
He said the late Prince Philip was “extremely eccentric and I think deeply unhappy.” He continued his assessment of King Charles, saying the current monarch “has somehow survived, but he is clearly damaged.”
