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Sir Ian McKellen is spilling the tea when it comes to the Royal Family.
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The actor recalled his first interaction with the late Queen Elizabeth when he attempted to crack a joke — but it didn’t sit well with the monarch.
“The Queen, I’m sure she was quite mad at the end,” McKellan said in an interview with the Times U.K. last week. “And on the few occasions I met her, she was quite rude.”
He recalled the first time they met in 2008, when he was awarded the Companion of Honour for his services to drama and equality, she told him: “You’ve been doing this for an awfully long time,” to which McKellen responded, “But not as long as you.”
The remark earned him a “royal smile,” McKellen said, before the Queen added: “Does anyone still actually go to the theatre?”
The X-Men star said in the interview: “That’s bloody rude when you’re giving someone a medal for acting.”
“It meant, ‘Does anyone care a f*** about you because I don’t. Now off you go!’”
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The Lord of the Rings alum also commented about other Royal Family members.
“Hats off to anyone who manages to stay sane in that world,” he declared, referring to the Queen’s husband, the late Prince Philip.
“Although even he was deeply, deeply eccentric, and I suspect deeply unhappy,” he commented.
“Same with the present king,” he added. “He sort of survives, but he is clearly damaged.”
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McKellan also spoke about Prince Harry, and revealed that he is “most definitely on Harry’s side” in the royals’ ongoing family drama.
“Imagine being born into the Royal Family,” the actor shuddered. “I’ve been in public life a bit, but these people are in prison.”
He added: “They can’t do anything normal. Can you imagine having to be nice to everyone you talk to?”
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But given his thoughts on the royals, McKellen wasn’t entirely complimentary to Meghan Markle’s husband.
“As for Harry, he’s probably not bright enough or doesn’t have the right friends to really help himself,” he remarked.
“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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