‘I hadn’t quite realised how rude I was being’: Miriam Margolyes says she was ‘shocked’ when Queen told her to ‘be quiet’

‘I was waffling on when she was talking to somebody else,’ said actor

Miriam Margolyes has opened up about the time the Queen told her to “be quiet”.

The actor is famously outspoken – in October she said “f*** you, bastard” live on Radio 4’s Today programme about chancellor Jeremy Hunt – and it turns out her bold antics didn’t go down well with the late Queen Elizabeth II.

Speaking in an interview with The Times Magazine, Margolyes said: “The Queen told me to ‘be quiet’. It shocked me because I hadn’t quite realised how rude I was being. I was waffling on when she was talking to somebody else, and I was overriding that rudely.

“But it wasn’t deliberate – I wasn’t meaning to be rude. I say what I think and I don’t care how it comes out. Sometimes it comes out in a way that people find very upsetting and offensive, and I’m sorry about that, but what I say is the truth.”

The encounter took place many years ago, when Margolyes was attending the annual reception for British Book Week at Buckingham Palace.

Elsewhere in the new interview, Margolyes lashed out at Monty Python’s John Cleese, who she had attended Cambridge University with. Last year, she had claimed Cleese was “vicious” to her when they were younger.

Earlier this month, Margolyes made headlines after doling out some rather unconventional dating advice on This Morning, for any single people looking for love this festive season.

She also recently appeared in David Baddiel’s enlightening documentary Jews Don’t Count, which you can read more about here.