Brian Cox calls Harry and Meghan 'victims' of an institution 'that shouldn't exist anymore'

The Succession star said he has 'enormous sympathy' for the Duchess and Duke of Sussex.

Albertina Lloyd

28 March 2023 at 4:38 am·2-min read

Brian Cox attends the — Brian Cox has said he has enormous sympathy for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. (Getty Images)

Brian Cox has called Prince Harry and Meghan Markle "victims" and said he has "enormous sympathy for them".

The Succession star has clarified comments he made recently in Haute Living New York magazine, in which he said the Suits star "knew what she was getting into" when she married into the Royal Family.

Cox, 76, told the Radio Times: “I’m a bit angry about that. Because that whole thing has been taken out of context. I actually have enormous sympathy for them.

“They’re the product of an institution which is moribund and shouldn’t exist any more. But that’s a difficult situation where [Meghan] comes from, and it’s understandable that she sees something [appealing] – and it does look like a fairytale.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Duke and Duchess of Sussex leave after a service of thanksgiving for the reign of Queen Elizabeth II at St Paul's Cathedral in London, Friday, June 3, 2022 on the second of four days of celebrations to mark the Platinum Jubilee. Prince Harry and his wife Meghan announced Wednesday, March 8, 2023 that their daughter had been christened in a private ceremony in California, publicly calling her a princess and revealing for the first time that they will use royal titles for their children. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, Pool, File) — Brian Cox has called Prince Harry and Meghan Markle 'victims' of an institution that 'shouldn't exist'. (AP)

"But it was a fairytale that went horribly wrong."

He added: “I think they’re victims."

The Scottish actor said he supports Scottish independence and the dissolution of the monarchy as he believes the royal institution “fundamentally, in this day and age, doesn’t make any sense”.

The Queen shakes the hand of actor Brian Cox during a reception, for those who have made a significant contribution to Scottish life, at the Palace of Holyroodhouse. — Brian Cox meeting the late Queen Elizabeth II at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in 2007. (Alamy)

The Braveheart star also confessed he only accepted his CBE in 2002 because his late sister Betty was a royalist.

Betty, who died recently at the age of 92, was the eldest of Cox's three sisters and helped raise him.

He said: “If it wasn’t for my sister, I wouldn’t be here. She was my constant in my life.

“And she was a great royalist. So the reason I accepted the first time around was [because] it honoured her as much as anything else. Because she was a believer.”

Brian Cox and the stars of Succession — Brian Cox stars as fearsome media mogul father Logan Roy in Succession. (HBO)

At the Emmy Awards in 2022 Cox stood up for the Royal Family after Succession creator Jesse Armstrong made a dig at King Charles in his acceptance speech.

Cox interrupted: "Keep it royalist, keep it royalist!"

The Bourne Identity star, who published his memoir Putting the Rabbit in the Hat in 2021, has previously spoken of an intimate encounter he shared with Princess Margaret when he was just 23.

Watch: Brian Cox reveals what he stole form the Succession set