Russell Crowe has not been invited to the coronation of King Charles – and he thinks its because he called Prince William and Prince Harry ‘mate’.
The Gladiator star, 59, is not among some of the prominent Australians – such as Nick Cave – who have been invited to watch the pomp and pageantry taking place this weekend.
This is despite the fact that he’s met the Royal Family before – or maybe, as he put it, that’s exactly the reason he wasn’t invited.
Actor Russell appeared on Aussie radio show Triple M Breakfast Brisbane this week where he said he ‘didn’t get the call,’ possibly because what happened ‘the last time I was introduced to royalty.’
‘I’m always respectful and I’m always very pleased to meet people, but the “your highness” thing, it’s just not in my nature,’ he explained.
‘I called Prince Harry and William “mate”. I though the equerry was going to pass out.’
Russell explained that the equerry – an officer of the Royal Family – had talked to him beforehand, explaining how to address the princes and how to act – but as Russell put it, ‘that’s just not in my DNA.’
While he describes himself as ‘not a monarchist,’ the New Zealand-born actor defended King Charles as a ‘good bloke,’ saying he was ‘kind’ to him and his then-wife when they met him in 2003.
He added on Twitter regarding the coronation: ‘I view the costumes and the ritual and the pageantry with distant interest, if any. I don’t know what it’s all supposed to mean in 2023, nor in any other time for that matter.
‘I don’t really think we need a King, but I’m sure Charles III will do the very best job he can.’
As part of the Commonwealth, there is an ongoing debate in Australia regarding the role of the British monarchy in the country and whether it should become a republic.
It comes after Australian musician Nick of the Bad Seeds addressed criticism for accepting an invitation to the coronation, in a tongue-in-cheek blog post titled: ‘Why the f*** are you going to the |King’s coronation?’
Like Russell, he said said he is ‘not a monarchist’ but said he is also not ‘an ardent republican,’ and is not ‘so damn grouchy as to refuse an invitation to what will more than likely be the most important historical event in the UK of our age.’
As well as being important, he added, the coronation will also be ‘the strangest the weirdest’ day.
Asked what his younger self would feel about him attending the event, he scoffed that he – ‘like many young people’ – was ‘demented’ when he was younger and so wasn’t worried about what the young Nick Cave would think of him.
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