The renowned Harry Potter actress Miriam Margoyles has stressed that King Charles is not her friend despite the fact they get on well. Writing in her new book The Little Book of Miriam, Miriam, 84, speaks about her interactions with the monarch before they became King and how much she admires him.
However, the reason why Miriam says she does not consider the King, 76, a friend is because to her that would be “an impertinence”. She explained: “I like and respect him, although I am politically a socialist. He cares about the planet, the country, all the people of the United Kingdom.
“He is human and honest, fundamentally serious but with a glorious sense of humour. I am not his friend – to claim that would be an impertinence.
“But I know enough to believe in his decency and kindness, and when I read some of the ghastly stuff newspapers write, I rush to defend him wherever I can.
“I value his worth. We are lucky to have such a king. I wish him health and strength and a long and happy life with his beloved queen, who is totally delicious.”
Miriam also went into detail about how she first came to meet Charles when he was the Prince of Wales after he listened to an audio recording of her in f the famous Charles Dickens play Oliver Twist.
She recalled: “I met King Charles when he was the Princes of Wales. He had listened to my audio-recording of Oliver Twist and generously hand-wrote a letter of praise and appreciation, delivered by a royal car to my Clapham Home.
“I have been invited to Sandringham, to Buckingham Palace, to Clarence House, and we have talked about Charles Dickens in all those places.”
Miriam’s comments about the King follow a period in which the actress has been honest about the current state of her health, announcing that she plans to move in with her partner Heather Sutherland.
Speaking to the Observer, she said her decision was based around the current state of the world and the realisation that we’re only here for a short time.
She told the publication: “The world around us has lost its charm. And we just want each other in a beautiful place which we know.
“We can toddle along and laugh and just quietly subside into old age. But together. We’re here for such a short time. It’s gone so fast. Mentally, I’m still fairly crisp.”
Miriam and Heather have been together for nearly 60-years, but have chosen this moment to move in together. On their relationship, Miriam said: “We are together, but we live apart. She is in Amsterdam, and I am in London but now we want to live together.
“I really do want to live with her because we are old, and we haven’t got much time left. It is silly to live apart.”