Sir Mark Rylance has revealed his wife has been using his knighthood to get into the best restaurants

Since Mark got the title and his spouse became Lady Claire van Kampen she has been using their newly acquired special status to guarantee the fine dining experiences she wants in London.

In an interview with Time Out London magazine, he said: "People have been very nice about it (the knighthood) .. My wife is a bit shameless about it, trying to get reservations in restaurants. I don't think that's quite what Her Maj (the Queen) imagined me doing with this knighthood!"

Mark admits he wasn't immediately certain he would accept his knighthood when he was informed he had been selected for the honour, after previously snubbing an honour from the royal family.

Ultimately though the 57-year-old thespian decided he should become a knight because it would give his political views more legitimacy and also he has a lot of respect for first in line to the throne Prince Charles because of his environmental beliefs and charity work.

Mark said: "I had a long think. I had been offered something when I left the Globe (theatre). But I've met Prince Charles a number of times now - because he's a great lover of Shakespeare - and I think he's very conscious person and a good influence ... Partly, in the end, I felt that because I have an interest in a number of subjects that people try to write off, like Shakespeare's authorship or crop circles - they say I'm insane or not mentally stable - that somehow a knighthood makes it a little less easy to write me off."