‘I’m not a monarchist, but…’; Nick Cave and Russell Crowe admit their fondness for Royal family members

There is an old adage that you should never judge a book by it’s cover; that certainly seems to be the case with hallowed singer Nick Cave, who took to the internet overnight to explain that despite not being a royalist or a monarchist, he will be attending the King’s coronation this weekend - and it all stems from a weepy episode involving Queen Elizabeth II.

Writing in his Red Hand Files newsletter, Cave explained his reasons starting off with “I am not a monarchist, nor am I a royalist, nor am I an ardent republican for that matter; what I am also not is so spectacularly incurious about the world and the way it works, so ideologically captured, so damn grouchy, as to refuse an invitation to what will more than likely be the most important historical event in the UK of our age. Not just the most important, but the strangest, the weirdest.”

Cave continued, “I guess what I am trying to say is that, beyond the interminable but necessary debates about the abolition of the monarchy, I hold an inexplicable emotional attachment to the Royals—the strangeness of them, the deeply eccentric nature of the whole affair that so perfectly reflects the unique weirdness of Britain itself,” he explained. “I’m just drawn to that kind of thing—the bizarre, the uncanny, the stupefyingly spectacular, the awe-inspiring.”

In his explanation, Cave also mentioned about a time he met Queen Elizabeth II during an event promoting Australian culture in the United Kingdom, where he expressed his reverence to her charisma and charm he felt during that encounter. It led Cave to admit to his newsletter subscribers that he actually found himself shedding a tear during the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II - which led him to feel empathy over the passing of his own mother who was also in her nineties.

Another Aussie battler known for his temperament, Russell Crowe, also held a similar perspective regarding his fondness for another member of the Royal family, King Charles III, once again stating that “I’m not a monarchist, nor am I a name dropper, but…”

That led to a Twitter thread explaining that despite not being a fan of the monarch that he thought King Charles III, away from the pomp and pageantry of Royal life, was actually a very nice person to meet. “I met the former Prince Charles at a Royal Premier of Master & Commander in London, 2003. Dani was 6 months pregnant with our first. We did the obligatory conga line of cast introductions then we sat with him for the film.”

“The man who would be King was kind. He was also funny. Deeply intelligent and good company, and gallant in his deference to Dani’s pregnancy. I’ll never forget the warmth in our last hand shake. Good bloke. I don’t think any of us can really understand what that life of duty and expectation must feel like. He’s taking over the family business. That is his destiny. Like it is for many, from publishers to plasterers.”

Crowe finished his Twitter thread saying “I don’t really think we need a King, but I’m sure Charles III will do the very best job he can.”

Though we are unsure if Russell Crowe will be attending the coronation, as he is currently back on the touring circuit playing music, however we are very interested to keep our eyes open to see what Nick Cave will be wearing, as the sometimes sombre artist cuts a very sharp figure in his black outfits across history.