Helen Mirren praises Meghan Markle for handling royal fame with self-restraint and elegance
Helen Mirren, who won an Oscar for her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth II in 'The Queen,' expressed admiration for the British royal family as she paid tribute to its newest member, Meghan Markle, during her appearance on Thursday's episode of 'Good Morning Britain'.
The 73-year-old actress appeared on the show in her role as ambassador for Prince Charles' charity, The Prince's Trust, and spoke about her close bond with the royal family and her relationship with the Duchess of Sussex.
"I think right from the moment that relationship was revealed she has conducted herself with incredible self-restraint, elegance, discipline and simplicity and humanity. I was an admirer. It's an incredibly difficult life to lead, talk about pressure. I think she is doing it with great elegance," she said.
The actress also mentioned that Prince Harry called her 'granny' after watching the critically acclaimed 2006 movie. She said: "Prince Charles is very, very tactful. Harry and William have mentioned it to me and have been very funny and very cool about it. I think Harry was at an awards ceremony and he said 'Granny is here'."
On being asked how she felt about being labeled 'acting royalty' for her nearly five-decade long career in the film industry, she said: "Maybe for the first one second and then very quickly I disabuse them of that fact!"
Helen also spoke about being an ambassador for the Prince's Trust. She added "It's a wonderful programme, the Prince's Trust, right from when it was first conceived by Prince Charles was obviously specifically to help young people entering into their future life, the workplace to help them set-up businesses, to become self-sufficient.
"And of course, a big part of that is mentoring. I think the Prince's Trust has been wonderful not just encouraging young people but encouraging young people to become mentors. That's what this award is about."
