Sir Ian McKellen says ‘he’s most definitely on Prince Harry’s side’ as he reveals late Queen was ‘rude to me’

The Lord Of The Rings actor said he thinks the late Queen was ‘quite mad at the end’

Sir Ian McKellen has claimed the late Queen Elizabeth II was “quite rude to him” on the occasions they met.

The veteran British actor, 85, was knighted for services to the performing arts in 1991 and had met the Queen at least once when she personally appointed him Companion of Honour (CH) for his services to drama and to equality in 2008.

The Lord Of The Rings actor said he thinks the late monarch was “quite mad at the end” as he described some unpleasant encounters with her.

“The Queen, I’m sure she was quite mad at the end. And on the few occasions I met her she was quite rude,” he told The Times. “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?’.

“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!’”

The Burnley-born actor went on to demonstrate how the late Queen shook his hand, claiming she “shoved” him away as he offered his hand and added: “That was her handshake and it meant, ‘Go! Go!’”

During the same interview, Sir Ian asserted his support for Prince Harry as the duke’s estrangement with his brother and father continues.

Reportedly pointing to a copy of Harry’s bombshell memoir, Spare, in his east London home, Sir Ian said: “I’m most definitely on Harry’s side.”

He added: “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?”

“Hats off to anyone who manages to stay sane in that world,” he said.

“Like the [late] Duke of Edinburgh managed to do, although even he was deeply, deeply eccentric and I suspect deeply unhappy. Same with the present king. He sort of survives, but he is clearly damaged. As for Harry, he’s 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.”

His comments come after his dramatic fall on stage as he lost his footing during a production of PlayerKings at the Noel Coward Theatre in June.

He has since been dealing with a chipped vertebra and fractured wrist and has since said he is taking the rest of the year off from acting to recover.

Friday Motivation

Trump: I’d have no problem with Epstein files being released

Trump and Jeffrey Epstein

Donald Trump has said he would have “no problem” releasing more files related to convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein if he returns to the White House.

Asked why a so-called “list of clients” who had visited Epstein’s private island had not yet been made public, Trump said it “probably will be”.

Scores of names associated with Epstein were made public this year when a tranche of court documents were unsealed by a judge in New York. Public figures including the Duke of York, Bill Clinton, the former US president, and Trump himself were among those named in the files released in January.

Many names in the documents were mentioned in passing and their inclusion does not suggest wrongdoing related to Epstein.

Asked by Lex Fridman, the computer scientist turned podcaster, why he had “hesitation” about the documents being released, Trump, 78, said: “I don’t think… I’m not involved. I never went to his island, fortunately, but a lot of people did.”

Pressed on why “so many smart, powerful people allowed him [Epstein] to get so close”, Trump, the former US president, replied: “He was a good salesman. He was a hailing, hearty type of guy.

“He had some nice assets that he’d throw around like islands, but a lot of big people went to that island. But fortunately, I was not one of them.”

Mr Fridman said it was “very strange” that a “list of clients” who visited Epstein’s island – Little Saint James in the US Virgin Islands – had not been made public.

“It’s very interesting, isn’t it? It probably will be, by the way, probably”, Trump said, before adding that he’d “certainly take a look at it”.

He added: “Now, [John F] Kennedy’s interesting because it’s so many years ago.

“They do that for danger too, because it endangers certain people... so Kennedy is very different from the Epstein thing but I’d be inclined to do the Epstein. I’d have no problem with it.”

The documents released in January included depositions, police reports and emails related to a 2015 defamation case.

The unsealed files did not include a list of clients and it is not clear whether such a document exists.

Some parts of the Epstein documents remained redacted including those identifying victims abused by the convicted paedophile.

Epstein committed suicide aged 66 at the Metropolitan Correctional Center, in Manhattan, in August 2019 while awaiting trial on new charges of trafficking teenage girls.