Saturday Night Live UK has once again made the royal family the butt of its jokes, this time targeting Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor in a cold open that lampooned his reaction to this week's court ruling in his favour.
In the sketch, broadcast on Sky One, cast member George Fouracres played the former prince crashing a tense royal family meeting. Didn't you hear the good news? his Andrew announced. The search warrants were unlawful. That means it doesn't count. The line referred directly to the High Court's ruling on Thursday that the warrants used by Thames Valley Police to search Andrew's homes at Royal Lodge and on the Sandringham estate had been unlawfully issued.
The sketch's Queen Camilla, played by Emma Sidi, was quick to puncture his celebration, pointing out that Andrew remains under police investigation over his links to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Andrew's response drew on gallows humour: Oh who among us can honestly say they aren't under police investigation?
King Charles, played by Larry Dean, attempted to put his foot down with his troublesome younger brother. You're arrogant, you're entitled, you represent an outdated institution, and that's all great, he said. But you've also been accused of terrible things and that's where I draw the line.
The episode, hosted by actor Danny Dyer, continued a pattern for the British version of the long-running American sketch show, which has repeatedly mined the royal family for comedy since launching its second series. Its series opener in September, hosted by Jeff Goldblum, mocked Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's return to Britain after six years in California, suggesting the couple had burned through the money from their Netflix deal.
In that sketch, actors Jack Shep and Ayoade Bamgboye played the Duke and Duchess of Sussex visiting King Charles and Queen Camilla at Balmoral, with Charles asking his son whether he had already spent all his Netflix money. The sketch also poked fun at Meghan's lifestyle brand efforts and the couple's uncertain plans in Britain.
The September series opener, hosted by Jeff Goldblum with CMAT as the musical guest, had already shown the programme's appetite for royal satire, while the October 10 edition was fronted by actor Danny Dyer with singer-songwriter Sasha Keable performing. The sketches have proved a hit online, with the Harry and Meghan cold open approaching a million views on video platforms.
The show has not shied away from political targets either, with Prime Minister Andy Burnham featuring in sketches this series. But it is the royal cold opens that have generated the most attention, drawing nearly a million views online for the Harry and Meghan sketch alone, and renewed debate about whether Britain's first family has become the country's most reliable source of satire.