Richard E Grant praises 'profound compassion' of King Charles
Richard E. Grant has praised King Charles for the "profound compassion" he showed when his wife was dying.
The 65-year-old actor had been married to Joan Washington for 35 years when she died of lung cancer aged 71 in September 2021 and in the weeks before her passing, the 74-year-old monarch came to visit the couple, bearing roses from his own garden and mangoes, which he knew were Joan's favourites.
He told Britain's Vogue magazine: "His profound compassion was perfectly expressed when he asked to visit my wife, a few weeks before she died in 2021. He arrived at our cottage with roses from his garden and mangoes, knowing they were her favourite fruit.
"He sat beside her and talked philosophically about life and death, with enormous sensitivity and humour. It lifted our spirits immeasurably."
The 'Withnail and I' star also praised the king's "hands-on" approach to the countryside and his broad range of knowledge in a variety of areas.
He continued: "I’ve known King Charles for a quarter of a century. Having stayed at both Sandringham and Highgrove House, I’ve got to know the private man and seen, first hand, how much he cares about everything: the countryside, the environment, the arts and music.
"His Majesty’s approach to the countryside is hands-on. He has an encyclopaedic knowledge of plants and a passion for preserving age-old traditions, such as willow hurdles and maintaining hedgerows, in tandem with his determination to farm organically, which he was pursuing decades before it became fashionable.
"Likewise, his musical tastes are broad and eclectic, ranging from classical to Barbra Streisand."
Richard previously told how Joan "challenged" him and their daughter Olivia to find a "pocketful of happiness" every day after she died.
Speaking on UK TV show 'This Morning', he said: "Four days before Joan died, she said to my daughter and I 'I know that you're going to be sad but I challenge you both to try and find a pocketful of happiness in each day.
"It became really a great mantra by which to navigate the abyss of grief that we've dealt with in the last 17 months. Not that you've got to do something life-changing but just in the ordinary things to find joy in them and it's been really helpful."
