Considered one of his career highlights, Sir Kenneth Branagh took on royalty in the war drama Henry V back in 1989. His interpretation of Shakespeare’s masterpiece had Branagh take on the dual roles of both director and lead actor. While it is one of his well-known roles, perhaps it’s the advice he got while filming from a very special, unofficial adviser on set that makes it one of his career highlights. That special adviser? Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales.
The unlikely matching occurred when Branagh was researching his role and admitted to a friend that he struggled to empathise with the life of being a royal as he came from a working-class Northern Irish background. Branagh was catching a pint with a friend when he shared his concerns and lucky for Branagh, his friend knew someone: “I was voicing these concerns over a pint with a friend of mine who said, “Well, actually, you know, I do know someone who knows someone,” he said. “If you’re serious and you will be discreet…” And so he arranged a number of intermediary meetings. I was very clearly screened. But eventually I met Prince Charles, who was very open, particularly about the burdens of expectations, and the fact of isolation. And this to me was very interesting.’“
The royal explained how difficult interactions with the public could be at first as many are on edge when they first meet the Prince. Branagh explained the Prince had to make an extra effort to make that connection and accept there would always be separation: “That does something to somebody’s insides. It does something to the way they then make decisions about other people’s welfare.”
The actor came away from the meeting with a sense of admiration for the royal family. He went on to explain of the heir to the throne: “Built in, and I could see in every fabric of his being, is a sense of duty, a sense of privilege, a sense of sacrifice. For all of the, as it were, first-class life that they [the Royal Family] lead, they know it’s an accident of birth and one that they need to meet by a commitment to serving others. And I saw in his case a genuine expression of that.”
In 2018, nearly 20 years after the film was released, Branagh relived his opening prologue during a gala performance to celebrate Prince Charles’s birthday. The film became one of Branagh’s most acclaimed films, earning him nominations for best director and best actor at the Academy Awards and the BAFTAS.
