Pope’s Exorcist star Russell Crowe says Brits ‘don’t need a king’ ahead of coronation

The 74-year-old monarch will officially be crowned alongside his wife, Camilla, as head of state on Saturday, May 6.

But temporary Irish resident Crowe, whose latest film about the Catholic church was filmed in Ireland, has taken to Twitter to reveal his thoughts on the monarchy.

“In any of my meetings with royalty, I haven’t yet been able to utter the ‘your highness’. I don’t really think we need a king,” Russell wrote.

Australian-born Crowe related his previous meetings with members of the Windsor clan.

"The word ‘highness’ 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. 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’s taking over the family business. That is his destiny. Like it is for many, from publishers to plasterers,” Crowe said.

There have been many questions raised among modern British subjects as to the relevancy of a royal family in their lives in the 21st century.

Indeed, hilarious Scottish comedian, Frankie Boyle, shredded the monarchy on Channel 4 last weekend with his new show ‘Farewell to the Monarchy.’

“You’d think Prince Andrew would apologise. I mean I apologise after consensual sex,” the Celtic fan joked. "Let’s raise a bottle to them… filled with petrol and a burning rag,” the comic quipped.

The Gladiator star spoke about his love of Ireland in a recent interview.

He was photographed enjoying pints, restaurants and cycling trips right across the country while filming The Pope’s Exorcist.

“I had a good time making the movie and that’s partially got to do with where we shot in Dublin and surrounds. We shot at Trinity College, we shot at the town hall, we were on the north side for a while.

“We shot in Bray a lot and Marley Park and we went down to Limerick. I did a lot of bike riding. I loved being where I was.”

Crowe said that the entire Pope’s Exorcist team was aware of Ireland’s complicated relationship with the Catholic Church and were careful to be “respectful to people’s beliefs”.

“I was aware of Ireland’s connection with religion because that was a daily conversation when we were making the movie.

“But I don’t think Ireland is that much less Catholic than it’s been. I think that people might have a connection to the church in Ireland that might different from other places.

“There’s a deep affection but at the same time, there have been troubling things that have happened and revelations that have come to light but thing is that the truth about that stuff was a known truth anyway, and it took a few things to happen for people to actually put on the table for everybody to start discussing it.

“That has been released to a certain degree when you have something like the Irish people coming together and voting for same-sex marriage. You start to see the nature of the country a lot more. It’s a very accepting and loving culture.

“As gruff as some people want to be, I find Irish people very warm. When we were shooting, for sure, we were aware of being respectful to people’s beliefs,” he concluded.