She showered praise on Charles and said he is exceptionally brave’
She was given a damehood back in 2022(Image: Getty Images)
Dame Joanna Lumley has showered praise on King Charles as he continues to battle cancer.
The Absolutely Fabulous actor described the monarch as ‘exceptionally brave’ because he ‘really is ill’ but continues to ‘pack so much into every day’.
Charles was diagnosed with an undisclosed form of the illness in February last year.
READ MORE: Exact date BrewDog bars will close for good as bosses say ‘simply not been possible’
Speaking to Saga Magazine, she said: “He’s exceptionally brave, because he really is ill, but practically nobody can keep up with him.
“He packs so much into every day, he walks faster than anybody I’ve ever met – he’s incredible.”
Devoted royalist Dame Joanna, 79, said Charles established an extraordinary legacy well before ascending to the throne.
She said: “He was the most brilliant Prince of Wales we will ever see, without being cruel to Prince William, because he had the role for so long.
“The Prince’s Trust was set up when he was in his twenties – what a far-thinking thing to do!”
Dame Joanna described Queen Camilla as a ‘golden, fabulous person’, Mirror reports.
The actress claimed the press backed Diana throughout the Royal couple’s marital troubles, noting that ‘so much mud was flung’ at Camilla.
She added: “But now she goes about her job without any rancour.”
Dame Joanna received an OBE in the 1995 New Year Honours List before securing her Dame title 27 years later.
She previously told how she discovered the news through a letter which left her in floods of tears.
The 2022 honours were the final New Year’s awards distributed by Queen Elizabeth II before her death nine months later, following her Platinum Jubilee celebrations.
Offering a glimpse into the late monarch, Dame Joanna remarked: “She left so gracefully, remaining upright and swearing in Liz Truss as Prime Minister until the very last minute.
“We never saw her use a wheelchair, even though she was very frail. She was compos mentis, then she went to her bed and died.”
In 2021, Joanna released book A Queen for All Seasons: A Celebration of Queen Elizabeth II.
She told Jonathan Ross it featured stories from individuals who had encountered the late Queen throughout her reign – from Winston Churchill to children who presented her with flowers on the street.
Don’t miss the biggest and breaking stories by signing up to the BirminghamLive newsletter here.