Richard E. Grant shares King Charles' kindness in late wife's last weeks: 'My heart goes out to him'

One of the many people who spent Monday watching the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II is undoubtedly the actor Richard E. Grant who has a special bond with the late monarch's son, King Charles III.

Writing on Twitter in the hours leading up to the Queen's funeral, the Withnail and I and Loki star revealed how Charles had met with his late wife, Joan Washington, shortly before she died from lung cancer last year.

"Will never forget the kindness of the King, who visited my wife in her final weeks - empathetic, philosophical, compassionate and kind," Grant wrote. "My heart goes out to him for the incalculable loss of his beloved mother."

The tweet was accompanied by photographs of the actor meeting with then-Prince Charles.

Tim P. Whitby - Pool/Getty Images Richard E. Grant and the then-Prince Charles

Washington was a voice and dialect coach whose clients included Anne Hathaway, Penelope Cruz, Jessica Chastain, and Emma Stone. The couple married in 1986.

Grant announced his wife's passing on Sept. 3 of last year.

"Joan - Love of my Life & Giver of Life to our daughter Olivia. Our hearts are broken with the loss of your Life last night," the actor wrote on Twitter. "35 years married & 38 together. To be truly known and seen by you, is your immeasurable gift. Do not forget us, sweet Monkee-mine."

Grant writes extensively about his late wife's illness in his upcoming book, A Pocketful of Happiness. The actor explained in a recent interview with Guardian journalist Hadley Freeman that he had been prompted to do so when he remembered advice given him by Withnail and I director Bruce Robinson. "Initially, when I decided to write this book, I thought I wouldn't write anything about the illness part of Joan's life," Grant said. "But then I remembered some advice Bruce gave me about screenwriting. He said: 'Write about something that has happened today that's never happened before,' and nothing had ever been more life-changing for us than Joan's diagnosis."

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