King Charles spoke with Barry Humphries shortly before the legendary comedian died at the age of 89.
The Melbourne-born comic genius died at St Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney following complications from hip surgery on Saturday.
Humphries is understood to have received a phone call from King Charles while he was being treated.
King Charles had also sent him an email with film director Bruce Beresford confirming their interactions after paying his friend a visit in hospital.
‘Barry said, ‘Well, I always admired him. We always got on well and I really liked his company and enjoyed being with him’,’ he told The Australian.
‘Barry was one of those people, he had great capacity for friendship. He was so interested in people.’
The legendary comedian had a longtime friendship with the King – appearing at the then-Prince’s trust concert in 2006 – and was also said to have been a favourite of Queen Elizabeth and the Queen Mother.
King Charles spoke with Barry Humphries shortly before the legendary comedian died at the age of 89
The King said he had been left ‘saddened’ by the death of the 89-year-old Australian comic.
‘His Majesty is writing privately to Mr Humphries’ family as we speak,’ a spokesperson for the Royal Family told Sky News.
One of Humphries’ best known skits as his most famous character Dame Edna Everage came at the Royal Variety Performance in London in 2019.
Wearing a sparkling red gown, Dame Edna gatecrashed the then-Prince Charles and Camilla’s royal box, leaving the couple – and the audience – in stitches.
After milking the scene for laughs a security guard entered the box, tapped the Dame on the shoulder and presented her with a piece of paper with her actual ticket.
Edna now had to leave, but told the crowd: ‘Oh sorry, they have found me a better seat.’
The royals adored Humphries, and the admiration was mutual.
In 2008, the he said the person he admired the most in the world was Prince Charles as ‘he does a great deal of good work without anyone knowing about it’.
King Charles particularly liked Humphries’ Sir Les Patterson character; a former Australian government minister and cultural attache.
One performance saw the pair reportedly discussing how much saliva he could produce while in character as Patterson.
‘With the gladioli, I can get them into Camilla’s lap if she’s sitting in the front row of the dress circle,’ Humphries cheekily told the royal.
Charles asked if he ‘had some kind of tube running down his mouth’ to help with the saliva, to which he replied: ‘No, I produce it myself.
‘It really is organic. I can expectorate six rows into the stalls.’
The legendary comedian had a longtime friendship with the King – appearing at the then-Prince’s trust concert in 2006 – and was also said to have been a favourite of Queen Elizabeth and the Queen Mother
Humphries’ heartbroken family, who were by his bedside throughout the week, confirmed the news on Saturday night, saying the legendary icon was ‘himself until the very end’.
Humphries tripped on a rug while reaching for a book in February and underwent surgery at St Vincent’s where he was readmitted this week with family including Spender by his side.
‘He was completely himself until the very end, never losing his brilliant mind, his unique wit and generosity of spirit,’ his family said in a statement.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said: ‘For 89 years, Barry Humphries entertained us through a galaxy of personas, from Dame Edna to Sandy Stone.
‘But the brightest star in that galaxy was always Barry.
‘A great wit, satirist, writer and an absolute one-of-kind, he was both gifted and a gift. May he rest in peace.’
Former UK prime minister Boris Johnson said Humphries was ‘one of the greatest ever Australians’ and a ‘comic genius’ who used his characters to say the ‘otherwise unsayable’.
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