No RSVP or TV needed. Not only will Helen Mirren not be attending the royal wedding next month, she won’t be watching the televised ceremony either — but, she tells Us Weekly, she has her reasons.
The English actress, who played the Queen of England in 2006’s The Queen, was honored at the Film Society of Lincoln Center’s 45th Chaplin Award Gala in New York City, where she explained why she won’t be one of the thousands of viewers watching Prince Harry wed Meghan Markle at St. George’s Chapel next month.
“I won’t be watching the upcoming ceremony,” she told Us at the event, held on Monday, April 30. “I think the whole business of royalty is fascinating to the rest of us who aren’t royal because it’s such a weird, private unobtainable secret world.”
The Golden Globe winner, 72, had previously revealed she why she wouldn’t be attending the wedding of the year while appearing on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in January.
“I don’t know them exactly,” Mirren told DeGeneres. “I was at an awards thing or something, and William was presenting and he knew that I was in the room and he said, ‘I’ve got to be really, really good because my granny is in the house.’ So, he kind of knew who I was.”
There isn’t any bad blood between the Woman in Gold star and the royal family, however. She also told the daytime host, “I’ve met the queen, briefly. And I’ve met Prince Harry and William. They’re both unbelievably charming, very straightforward, very charming, and a great credit to their father, [Prince Charles].”
Kensington Palace confirmed in November 2017 that the nuptials — which will be attended by Markle’s former Suits costars, Serena Williams and Priyanka Chopra, among others — will be televised. The couple wanted to share their special day with members of the public so they can “feel part of the celebrations too.”
As for switching the channel on May 19, it looks like Mirren’s husband, Taylor Hackford, shares the same sentiment. When asked if he’ll be watching the ceremony with his wife, he laughed and told Us, “I doubt it.”
With reporting by Marc Lupo
