Russell Crowe declares ‘we don’t need a king’ ahead of Charles’ coronation

The Aussie actor says it’s “not in my DNA” to say “your highness” and that he called William and Harry “mate” when he met them.

Russell Crowe has declared "we don't need a king" in the week of Charles' coronation.

Russell Crowe has weighed in on the need for the monarchy as the world eagerly awaits King Charles’ coronation.

The 59-year-old New Zealander, who has met several of the royals during his legendary acting career, says Charles is a “good bloke” but that “we don’t need a King”.

In a lengthy statement posted on Twitter on Monday, Crowe recounted meeting Charles with his former wife Danielle Spencer at the royal premiere of the film Master and Commander in 2003.

“Dani was six months pregnant with our first. We did the obligatory conga line of cast introductions, then we sat with him for the film,” Crowe wrote.

Charles talks to Russell Crowe as he arrives for the screening of Master and Commander.

“The man who would be King was kind. He was also funny. Deeply intelligent and good company, and gallant in his deference to Dani’s pregnancy. I’ll never forget the warmth in our last hand shake. Good bloke.”

But Crowe said his deference to the royals only went so far.

“In any of my meetings with royalty, I haven’t yet been able to utter the ‘your highness’,” he wrote.

“It simply doesn’t come out of my mouth. It’s not in my DNA.

“I called both William and Harry ‘mate’ when I met them.

“I thought the equerry (an officer of the British royal household) was going to pass out.

“That doesn’t mean however that I meant any disrespect or discourtesy. Far from it. I was pleased to meet them.

“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.”

He added: “I don’t think any of us can really understand what that life of duty and expectation must feel like.

“He’s taking over the family business. That is his destiny. Like it is for many, from publishers to plasterers.”

The coronation ceremony of King Charles III is scheduled to take place at Westminster Abbey in London on May 6. (Photo by Jack Hill / POOL / AFP)

Stars will be out for coronation

Lionel Richie is among the celebrities handed invitations for King Charles III’s coronation, according to Buckingham Palace, which has kept the guest list tightly under wraps.

Richie, 73, already confirmed as one of the headline acts at a star-studded concert in the grounds of Windsor Castle the day after, will be present in London’s Westminster Abbey for the May 6 coronation, the palace said in a statement.

The four-time Grammy Award-winning singer has sold more than 125 million albums worldwide.

In 2019, he became the first global ambassador for Charles’s charitable Prince’s Trust which supports struggling 11 to 30-year-olds get their lives on track.

A full list of invitees has not been published but other celebrities attending, according to a partial list issued by officials Monday, included Edward Enninful, editor-in-chief of British Vogue.

Also invited are Kelly Jones, lead singer of the band Stereophonics, and restoration and recycling champion Jay Blades, presenter of the hit BBC television series The Repair Shop.

An unnamed group of Nobel prize winners also made the list for the event on Saturday which has seen numbers slashed from the 8000 invited to his mother’s coronation in 1953 to just 2000.

Rather than stuff the abbey with aristocrats as was the case in previous coronations, Charles has reportedly been determined that the ceremony reflects modern British life.

He is said to have chosen “meritocratic not aristocratic” criteria that have seen invitations sent to representatives of charitable organisations supported by the King and Queen Camilla.

Others included are recipients of the British Empire Medal who have been honoured for good works such as English schoolboy Max Woosey, who raised hundreds of thousands of pounds for a hospice by sleeping in a tent in his garden for three years.

- with AFP