Catherine Zeta-Jones says the Queen’s death has made her ‘homesick’

Catherine Zeta-Jones says the death of Her Majesty the Queen has made her pine for the United Kingdom and ‘proud’ of her British heritage. 

The long-serving monarch passed away on Thursday afternoon aged 96, 70-years after replacing her father King George VI on the Royal throne. 

Reflecting on her passing and the inevitable outpouring of grief that has swept the nation, Zeta-Jones, who lives in the United States with husband Michael Douglas,  described her as an ‘inspiration.’

Speaking at the Disney D23 Expo on Saturday, she said: ‘I’m a big royalist and I love the royal family and what they do for our country. 

‘As a girl growing up in Wales, in Britain, in the UK, I had my mum who was the strongest, safest person to be with but I also had a Queen.

‘And I don’t just mean that she was a queen sitting on a throne, we’re at Disney where queens and princesses are the topic du jour, but a woman who was a real inspiration.

Farewell: The long-serving monarch passed away on Thursday afternoon aged 96, 70-years after replacing her father King George VI on the Royal throne

Speaking out: Catherine was speaking about The Queen during her appearance at the the Disney D23 Expo on Saturday

‘I’m in a country that has never had a woman as a figure of leadership, of power and of respect, and so I shall miss her dearly.’ 

The Welsh star also admitted she felt like a part of her identity had been lost as a consequence of the Queen’s tragic passing.  

She added: ‘I kept calling my mother on FaceTime and going “do you feel how I feel?” and they said “yeah”.

Role model: The Welsh actress, who lives in the United States with husband Michael Douglas, described the Queen as an ‘inspiration’

Support: Zeta-Jones also shared her belief that newly appointed King Charles III would do “an exceptional job” as “the baton was passed”

‘I don’t know whether it’s because I’m British but I just felt like a little piece of me had gone.

‘There will never be a queen in my lifetime again, but it was a very strange feeling. (I felt) very homesick, very proud of my heritage.’ 

The actress also shared her belief that newly appointed King Charles III would do “an exceptional job” as “the baton was passed”. 

Charles, formerly the Prince Of Wales, was proclaimed King at a historic ceremony in St James’s Palace on Saturday following a meeting of the accession council, during which he swore an oath to privy counsellors. 

Step up: Charles, formerly the Prince Of Wales, was proclaimed King at a historic ceremony in St James’s Palace on Saturday