The Queen Presides Over the Dickens of a Celebration Also on hand was Rowan Atkinson, who played Fagin in a West End production of Oliver! “I think it’s an extremely important evening. Dickens is an invaluable part of British literary heritage,” Atkinson said. “I am making the most of the opportunity to do it now as I probably won’t be around when we celebrate it in another 100 years’ time.” He said that it was a “privilege” to be invited to celebrate Dickens – and managed to avoid the pratfalls of his most famous character, Mr. Bean, when he met Her Majesty.
