Britain would be ‘mad’ if it abolished the monarchy, Sir Michael Caine has said.
The actor, 91, gives his views on the royal family in his new autobiography, Don’t Look Back, You’ll Trip Over: My Guide to Life.
He says the late Queen Elizabeth’s reign was “extraordinary” and that her son, King Charles, is proving to be a “great” monarch.
The retired star of film classics such as the Italian Job and Zulu also emphasizes that the monarch is not anti-democratic and adds: “We would be crazy if we threw that away.”
Sir Michael was knighted by the Queen in 2000, two years after he and fellow showbiz legends Joan Collins and Shirley Bassey chatted with the monarch at a reception at Windsor Castle.
Britain would be ‘mad’ if it abolished the monarchy, Sir Michael Caine has said. Above: With his wife Shakira at Buckingham Palace after being knighted, November 2000
Michael Caine kneels as he is knighted by the Queen at Buckingham Palace, November 2000
His comments in his new book come after fellow film star Sir Ian McKellen branded the late queen “rude” and “quite angry” and said Prince Harry is “not smart enough” to handle royal life.
But in the Times interview in September, the Lord of the Rings star added: “I’m absolutely on Prince Harry’s side.”
Sir Michael’s new book is co-authored with journalist Matthew D’Ancona.
The journalist asks him: ‘Did you still think in the 1960s that the monarchy would be there now?’
Sir Michael then gives his glowing view of the royals, saying: ‘I doubt we’ve given it much thought. But if you had asked us, most of us probably would have thought it would survive.
‘By then it was quite clear that the Queen was doing a fantastic job, that she was absolutely right about the challenges she faced.
The actor, 91, gives his views on the royal family in his new autobiography, Don’t Look Back, You’ll Trip Over: My Guide to Life. Above: The star talks to the Queen alongside Shirley Bassey and Joan Collins at Windsor Castle in 1998
“And she had such an extraordinary government. The outpouring of love and respect when she died was astonishing – you could tell she had meant something very special to people.
‘And I think Charles is becoming a great king too. The monarchy is not anti-democratic, it is one of the ways our democracy has endured.
‘This stable institution that is at the heart of everything. We’d be crazy to throw that away. I don’t think we will either.’
Sir Michael previously recalled how the Queen laughed at a joke he told during a meal, but he wasn’t sure if she actually found it funny.
He told USA Today: “She laughed. I don’t know if it was out of kindness, but she laughed. But that was the first clean joke I could think of.”
The actor also revealed that he keeps his knighthood in a special room in his Surrey home, alongside his ‘other valuables’, including his two Oscars.
He added: “Unlike an Academy Award, this isn’t just for one film. It’s for a life. If my life was good enough for a knighthood, I would be very happy with that.’
Don’t Look Back, You’ll Stumble: My Guide to Life, by Michael Caine in conversation with Matthew D’Ancona, is published by Hodder & Stoughton