Height of insincerity? It’s always saying ‘I love you’, says Crown actress

THE actress who plays the austere Queen Mary in The Crown has criticised the habit of sprinkling conversations with “I love you”, saying that, far from being an expression of affection, it actually implies insincerity.

Given her performance as Queen Elizabeth’s notoriously rigid grandmother in the Netflix series, it is perhaps no surprise that Dame Eileen Atkins, 83, should err towards the Victorian when it comes to overt expressions of emotion and affection.

She told Yours magazine: “I can’t bear it and it all becomes a bit meaningless, doesn’t it, if you say it all the time and have to end every conversation with it. Maybe it’s a good thing to do, but no one in my family said it all the time. In my case, it was fine because I always knew I was loved, but perhaps not all kids do.”

The actress’s opinion was reflected in an early episode of The Crown when Queen Mary, veiled and shrouded in mourning, greets the new Queen on the death of her son King George VI, Elizabeth’s father. But instead of offering her shocked granddaughter words of affection, let alone a hug, Queen Mary simply bows deeply to the young Elizabeth, already trapped by the institution of monarchy.

Dame Eileen also revealed that the Queen was something of a role model.

“Whenever I’m not looking forward to getting up in the morning, I think of the Queen, who’s almost 10 years older than me, and is probably going to a factory opening that day – and she’s not complaining,” she said.

“I have a completely illogical view of the monarchy. I dislike the aristocracy, but I love the Royal family.”

Dame Eileen co-created the original Upstairs, Downstairs series in the 1970s and played the aristocratic Lady Holland in the 2010 BBC remake.