The actor, 85, suggested that otherwise, Prince Harry did not have the right friends “to help himself”, although he admitted that he was “most definitely on Harry’s side”.
Sir Ian, who is recuperating after falling from a London stage in June, reflected on the trials and tribulations of royal life in an interview with The Times.
Seemingly influenced by the Duke’s memoir, Spare, which he was reading, he said: “Hats off to anyone who manages to stay sane in that world.
“Like the [late] Duke of Edinburgh managed to do, although even he was deeply, deeply eccentric and I suspect deeply unhappy.
“Same with the present King. He sort of survives, but he is clearly damaged. As for Harry, he’s probably not bright enough or doesn’t have the right friends to really help himself. Mind you, he had the pick of all the pretty women in the world. I hope he’s got the right one.”
Sir Ian McKellen initially turned down the role of Gandalf in Lord of the Rings because of a clash with his X-Men movie. Photo / Supplied
The actor, who was knighted by Elizabeth II in 1991 and was awarded a Companion of Honour medal for services to drama and equality in 2008, also had little positive to say about the late Queen, who he considered “bloody rude”.
“The Queen, I’m sure she was quite mad at the end,” he said.
“And on the few occasions I met her she was quite rude. When I received a medal for acting, she said, ‘You’ve been doing this for an awfully long time.’
“I said, ‘Well, not as long as you.’ I got a royal smile for that, but then she said, ‘Does anyone still actually go to the theatre?’
“That’s bloody rude when you’re giving someone a medal for acting. It meant, ‘Does anyone care a f*** about you because I don’t. Now off you go!’”
Sir Ian also claimed that the late monarch used a handshake to dismiss him.
Demonstrating how she held out her hand to him, he said that when he tried to take it she pushed him away.
“That was her handshake and it meant, ‘Go! Go!’” he said.
The actor acknowledged that royal life was difficult.
“Imagine being born into the royal family. I’ve been in public life a bit, but these people are in prison,” he added.
“They can’t do anything normal. Can you imagine having to be nice to everyone you talk to?”
Sir Ian, a two-time Oscar nominee, is recovering after he lost his footing during a play’s fight scene at the Noel Coward Theatre and has since been suffering from wrist and neck injuries.
He has previously said that he plans to “take the rest of the year off” from acting.
Sir Ian was two months into a season of Player Kings as John Falstaff when he fell from the stage into the first row of the audience.
He said he had been “left feeling weak physically” from the fall during the production adapted by Robert Icke from Shakespeare’s Henry IV parts one and two, and that he is doing exercises to treat the issue.
However, he has also hinted he may return as the wizard Gandalf in a new Lord of the Rings film planned by Warner Bros.
