When a major royal event takes place in Britain,
the images of public joy broadcast worldwide
make it appear as though the nation is united
in its adoration of the royal family, but
that's not actually the case.
In fact, quite a few celebs simply can't stand
the royal family.
Daniel Radcliffe: Not a royalist
J.K.
Rowling's beloved series of Harry Potter novels
became a worldwide phenomenon after Warner
Bros. began adapting them for the big screen
in the early 2000s.
The films rejuvenated the British film industry,
even creating a spike in U.K. tourism.
Ironically, Daniel Radcliffe, the main star
of the franchise, doesn't at all agree with
how Great Britain is run.
When the Daily Beast asked Radcliffe if he's
a royalist, he answered:
"Not at all.
[…] I just don't see the use of the monarchy,
though I'm a fierce patriot."
And just in case that left any room for ambiguity,
he added:
"I think the monarchy symbolizes a lot of
what was wrong with the country."
Radcliffe was one of the many people who were
offended by Prince Harry's decision to wear
a Nazi uniform - complete with swastika armband
- to a fancy costume party in 2005.
After criticizing the costume to the Daily
Beast, Radcliffe emphasized:
"My dad is Northern Irish and my mum is Jewish.
That's working blood.
Though I am not religious in the least, I
am very proud to be Jewish."
Tracey Ullman rips into royals
Shape-shifting English-American comic Tracey
Ullman created a character she calls Her Royal
Highness, who sounds a little something like
this:
"Interesting wine there."
"Oh thank you mom, yes, went through a bit
of trouble."
"It manages to be bland and acid, both at
the same time."
And here she is as Camilla Parker Bowles:
"Do you vape?
No, no, I don't blame you… it's not a patch
on the real thing."
Ullman is perhaps better known in the United
States than in the United Kingdom, as she
left the British Isles in the mid-1980s to
conquer America.
The Tracey Ullman Show debuted in 1987 and
made her an instant star stateside, but it
would be 30 long years before she ever returned
to British television screens.
Nevertheless, Ullman has remained quite vocal
about how she feels the U.K. is run.
In 1998, she sat down for an interview with
the The New York Times, who asked the multi-talented
foreigner if she was a republican.
She answered:
"I am, I am.
[A Member of Parliament] once suggested I
be put in the Tower of London for saying derogatory
things about the royals.
There's no First Amendment in my country."
The actress also said the U.K. should adopt
the bicycling monarchy approach taken by other
European countries in order to save money.
And she felt royals should be able to step
down instead of being forced into royal service:
"Why should they have to?
There are loads of people willing.
One of those weird cousins, no doubt."
Morrissey is not amused
Morrissey, former lead singer of cult '80s
band The Smiths, has long been considered
one of the greatest living Brits.
In 2006, he came in at number two in a BBC
poll, finishing behind veteran broadcaster
David Attenborough, but ahead of Paul McCartney.
Another list he'll always top?
The list of famous anti-royalists.
"The arrogance of the British royals is staggering.
Absolutely staggering."
There may be some irony there.
Anyway, the Smiths' epic 1986 song "The Queen
is Dead" is generally considered an anti-monarchy
anthem, and since going solo, Morrissey's
views on the royals have only hardened.
In 2011, the indie icon told The Telegraph
that the queen is the, quote, "ultimate dictator."
He also claimed that
"If the British people decided tomorrow that
the Queen must go, then the Queen wouldn't
hesitate to turn her tanks on the British
people.
It would happen."
It isn't just Queen Elizabeth II that Morrissey
loathes.
In 2014, he released a scathing letter about
Prince William, who'd been spotted on a hunting
trip with brother Harry just days after publicly
criticizing poachers in Africa.
The letter read in part:
"William is too thickwit to realize that animals
such as tigers and rhino are only driven to
near extinction because people who are precisely
like himself and his brother have shot them
off the map…
."
With his signature vitriol, Morrissey added:
"We can only pray to God that their hunting
guns backfire in their faces."
Eddie Izzard: Not "into royalty"
For years, Eddie Izzard was primarily known
across the U.K. as a comedian, appearing both
on stage and in public wearing makeup and
women's clothing.
"Prince Philip shoots things.
He's the President of the World Wide Wildlife
Fund and he shoots things.
He's kind of a contradiction, he really is."
At the height of his stand-up comedy career,
it would have seemed inconceivable that he'd
one day play the part of Queen Victoria's
eldest son Bertie, Prince of Wales, as he
did in Stephen Frears' 2017 drama Victoria
and Abdul.
Of course, playing a royal doesn't mean that
you actually approve of royals.
While doing press for Victoria and Abdul,
the actor told Metro:
"[Monarchy] doesn't make sense in the 21st
century."
He added that he, quote, "wasn't into royalty."
Judging by a comment he made to The Independent,
this attitude will be central to his bid to
become mayor of London in 2020:
"Hereditary privilege is crazy to me.
We should widen the gene pool, and elect a
head of state for five years."
Colin Firth's royal "problem"
Colin Firth won the 2011 Academy Award for
best actor for his brilliant performance as
George VI in The King's Speech, an ironic
win given his stance as a British republican.
Firth told compatriot Piers Morgan on CNN
that he enjoyed playing King George, and the
actor even said some kind words about the
work Prince Charles was doing for the country.
However, when asked if he was a monarchist,
the actor let his true colors show.
"I really like voting, you know?
It's one of my favorite things."
But in regards to unelected bodies, he said:
"It is… it is a problem for me, yeah."
The actor was also part of the campaign for
the United Kingdom to remain a part of the
European Union, calling the idea of Brexit.
"[...] a disaster of unexpected proportions."
When Brexit became a reality, the actor applied
for - and received - Italian citizenship,
so that he could have the same passport as
his wife and children.
Russell Brand's royal ranting
In America, comedian-turned-actor Russell
Brand is perhaps best known for arguably unfortunate
turns in films like Get Him to the Greek and
a regretful remake of the 1981 classic Arthur.
Meanwhile, at home in Britain, Brand is quite
well-known for bashing the royal family.
Brand has used his YouTube show The Trews
to champion a movement to end the monarchy
on more than one occasion.
"Sergeant Gobbins, welcome Her Majesty, aye!"
But it was the content of his book, Revolution,
that really got the royalists raging.
"I mean in England we have a Queen for f---'s
sake.
We have to call her things like 'Your Majesty'
like she's all majestic.
She's just a person.
'Your Highness'!
What the f--- is that?'"
In an article that printed excerpts from Brand's
book, the Daily Mail wondered if the provocative
comic could sink any lower.
Evidently, he could, because elsewhere in
the book, Brand criticized Queen Elizabeth
II's German heritage and even called her a
Nazi:
"Her actual name is Mrs Saxe-Coburg-Gotha.
It's the most German thing I've ever heard
- she might've weperll as been called 'Mrs
Bratwurst-Kraut-Nazi.'"
The Sex Pistols weren't fans
Lots of celebrities have said nasty things
about the royal family, but the Sex Pistols
really went the extra mile back in 1977.
The year marked Queen Elizabeth II's" Silver
Jubilee, a year-long celebration of her 25
years on the throne.
On June 7th, a rented boat called the Queen
Elizabeth chugged down the Thames River with
the Sex Pistols aboard.
Ostensibly a promotion for their blisteringly
sarcastic second single, "God Save the Queen,"
the stunt also served to preemptively mock
the royal river procession planned just days
later, according to Mashable.
As night fell, the Sex Pistols launched into
the gleeful rendition of "Anarchy in the U.K.,"
just as the boat was passing the parliament
building.
As the punk rockers continued with their set,
police boats cornered the Queen Elizabeth,
power was cut off, and the vessel had to dock.
The band's manager Malcolm McLaren reportedly
fought with police while the band slipped
away into the night.
The remaining passengers rioted.
The event was indeed anarchy in the U.K.
It's worth noting that in recent years, The
Sex Pistols' former frontman Johnny Rotten
- otherwise known as John Lydon of Public
Image Limited - has somewhat softened his
stance on the royal family.
"I have no personal animosity against any
one of them as human beings.
But as an institution, I feel it's something
that I've overspent on."
Noel Gallagher: The royals are 'clowns'
The Gallagher brothers of Oasis are as famous
for hating one another as they are for their
'90s alternative rock classic "Wonderwall"
and the ironically titled "Don't Look Back
in Anger."
After lots of internal feuding, Oasis finally
broke up in 2009, and Liam and Noel Gallagher
have apparently been estranged ever since.
The royal family may be the only thing Noel
Gallagher hates more than his brother Liam.
In a 2000 interview with Guitar Player, Noel
said the royals were, quote, "clowns."
He also called for abolishing the monarchy
altogether.
In a 2015 round-up of Noel's snidest remarks,
Rolling Stone published this certifiable doozy
of a diss:
"I wouldn't wish the royal family dead, just
seriously maimed.
I'd take a couple legs off."
Morrissey must be fuming that he didn't think
of the soundbite first.
Danny Boyle criticized royal fever
Believe it or not, there's at least one Oscar-winning
film director who thinks Harry Potter author
J.K.
Rowling should replace the queen as the British
head of state.
You heard that right.
Trainspotting director Danny Boyle made headlines
after telling The Guardian that the Queen
should be replaced by an elected leader…
and then he suggested Rowling would be a perfect
fit for the job.
Elsewhere, he criticized all the attention
the royal family receives:
"It's a ludicrous spotlight they're under.
You can still have a royal family if you like
[…] but actually have an elected head of
state."
Boyle was already well known in his native
country after his best director win for 2008's
Slumdog Millionaire, but he was put under
the national spotlight when he was selected
to direct the opening ceremony of London's
2012 Olympic Games.
His work on the event received overwhelming
praise, and he was even offered a knighthood,
though he shocked the adoring public by turning
down the honor.
As he told Huffington Post in 2013:
"It wasn't my cup of tea, as we say in Britain.
The filmmaker believes the British monarchy
will be abolished in his lifetime, but it's
worth noting that he applauded Queen Elizabeth
II for her involvement in a short film he
directed for the Olympics.
"So you didn't have any dialogue planned for
her?"
"No, there was no dialogue written.
She said, 'Don't you think I should say something?'
Well, yes."
Johnny Marr royally opposes royalty
The main creative talents behind The Smiths
were guitarist Johnny Marr and singer-songwriter
Morrissey.
While the two often disagreed about the direction
of the band, it seems they did share one common
bond: a seething hatred of the royal family
that lords over their homeland.
In a 2011 interview with NME magazine, Marr
said:
"[I have] a few problems with the monarchy,
from serious to less serious."
Elsewhere in the interview, he asked a rather
pointed question about the queen's general
demeanor:
"Why does she have to deal with her subjects
with such a dour face?
Surely her life can't be that hard."
The guitarist is apparently worried that her
outside appearance reflects her personality:
"I can't think of too many examples of overt
empathy and compassion - they just don't come
to mind."
Asked if he'd accept an honor or title from
her majesty, Marr replied, and we quote: "F---
no!"
Honor Blackman declined an honor
Honor Blackman built a career playing femme
fatale-types, and her performance as Pu See
Galore in Goldfinger turned her into an icon.
Well, go ahead and add her name to the list
of performers who aren't afraid to rock the
boat when it comes to the royal family.
In 2014, she was offered the chance to become
a CBE, or Commander of the British Empire.
She turned down the honor, telling the Daily
Mail:
"They ring you beforehand to ask if you'd
like to accept, and I think they were quite
shocked when I declined."
Then, she not-so subtly called out her Goldfinger
costar:
"[Sean Connery] accepts a knighthood but never
comes here, doesn't pay tax here and supported
a yes vote in the referendum.
But I don't think he thinks deeply about politics."
Whoa, Sean Connery just got royally burned.
And so did the royal family.
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