Ian McKellen calls the late Queen ‘pretty rude’ as he opens up about the Royals

“When I got an acting medal, she said, ‘You’ve been doing this for a very long time.’ I said, “Well, not as long as you,” he continued. “I got a royal smile for that, but then she said, ‘Does anyone else go to the theater?’

“It’s bloody rude when you give someone a medal for acting. It meant, “Someone cares about you, because I don’t like you. Now go!” he added.

The actor then demonstrated to his interviewer how Regina, who died in 2022 aged 96, shook his hand by pushing him.

“That was her handshake and it meant, ‘Go! Go!'” McKellen said.

McKellen was knighted for services to the performing arts in 1991, and the Queen made him a personal Companion of Honor (CH) for services to drama and equality in 2008.

Reflecting on his knighthood, the two-time Oscar nominee said he would have refused to become a “gentleman” if he had been “a man of unwavering principles”.

He said he considered turning down the knighthood at the time, but was swayed to accept it after speaking to his friend, actor and Stonewall co-founder Michael Cashman, who told him how “useful” it would be.

“And he was right, because being knighted opens doors,” added McKellen.

In the same interview, the actor also expressed his support for Prince Harry amid the Duke of Sussex’s estrangement from his brother, Prince William, and his father, King Charles III.

Touching a copy of the 2023 royal memoir, Spare, which the actor had at home, he said: “I’m definitely on Harry’s side.”

“Imagine being born into the royal family. I’ve been in public life for 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?” he continued.

However, despite voicing his support for the royal, who has stepped down from his royal duties and moved to America with his wife Meghan Markle, McKellen said he thinks the Duke is “probably not bright enough” to survive royal life.

“He’s probably not smart enough or has the right friends to really help himself,” McKellen said, adding, “Hats off to whoever manages to stay sane in that world.”

McKellen has recovered after falling off stage during a show in London’s West End in June.

He was playing Falstaff in a version of Shakespeare’s Henry IV called Player Kings when he appeared to lose his footing during a fight scene, according to the BBC.

Following the incident, McKellen thanked fans for their support in a message on X, adding that he was “deeply indebted” to the medical staff who diagnosed and treated his injuries.

“They have assured me that my recovery will be complete and speedy and I look forward to getting back to work,” he wrote.