In 2023, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were spoofed by pop-culture shows and celebrities more than any other. From adult animated comedies to late night monologues and awards show gags.
Both royals have faced the comedy treatment, despite Meghan saying very little publicly throughout the year and staying away from the biggest royal event, King Charles III's coronation, in May.
The year started off on an uneven note for the couple as the fallout from their December 2022 Netflix docuseries was still circulating in the media, in anticipation of Harry's bombshell memoir, Spare, set for release on January 10.
The book was leaked to the media in the days before its official publication, with a number of its most sensational revelations becoming prime material for late night hosts' monologues.
After Spare, and the interviews undertaken by Harry to promote it, the couple saw their popularity plummet on either side of the Atlantic, only recently regaining lost ground in the polls.
Despite the couple taking a lower public profile after the memoir's release, they still found themselves the butt of jokes in the adult animated comedy sphere, falling victim not only to cult TV classic, South Park, but also Family Guy.
On why the couple have seen their comedy takedowns increase in 2023, entertainment editor Mark Boardman previously told Newsweek that they had provided the media with "plenty of press-worthy soundbite fodder and commentary," ultimately making them "fair game" for pop-culture roasting.
Jimmy Kimmel—Freudian Nightmare
The late night host who perhaps ran with content from Prince Harry's Spare as material for his opening monologues around the time of the book's publication the most was Jimmy Kimmel.
In addition to producing a skit of Harry and Prince William's alleged fight which left the former laid out on the floor surrounded by shards of a broken dog bowl, Kimmel mercilessly spoofed Harry's account of catching frostbite on his penis after a North Pole trek in 2011.
In a parody of Spare rewritten as a rhyming children's book, Kimmel joked about Harry's revelation that to ease his penile frostbite, he applied a lip cream formerly loved by his late mother, Princess Diana, to the area in a moment some social media users claimed was a "Freudian nightmare."
"My poor little prince, put this cream on your willy. It will lessen the ache and make it less chilly," Kimmel read in the voice of the princess.
"But mommy, did you not put this on your lips?"
"Oh yes, my dear boy, and also my nips. But do not delay or your knob be destroyed."
"But mommy, have you heard about Sir Sigmund Freud?"
'South Park'—Worldwide Privacy Tour
In February, Harry and Meghan faced perhaps their most critical and overt spoofing from adult animated comedy South Park.
The Comedy Central show created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone in 1997 has faced waves of backlash over the years for its celebrity takedowns, and in its 26th season took aim at Harry and Meghan in an episode titled "The Worldwide Privacy Tour."
In the episode, a fictionalized "Prince and Princess of Canada" split from the monarchy and travel around the world announcing their desire for privacy. The message parodies Harry and Meghan's objections to the tabloid press, and the characters were depicted in outfits closely resembling ones worn by the couple in real life.
The episode received worldwide press coverage coming so close after the release of Spare, and speculation circulated that Harry and Meghan were considering suing South Park's creators.
This was however disproven in a statement released by their spokesperson describing the rumors as "baseless and boring."
'Family Guy'—Sponsored Prince
Eight months after the South Park roasting, Harry and Meghan once again became the subject of an animated takedown, this time from Seth MacFarlane's Family Guy on the Fox network.
Featured in one of the show's famous cutaway gags, lead character Peter Griffin is turned down by his friends ahead of an adventure, telling them: "That's fine I'll go it alone, just like Meghan Markle and Prince Harry."
The couple were then shown tanning by the pool of a mansion, with a butler telling Harry: "Sir, your millions from Netflix for no one knows what."
The prince responded to "put it with the rest of them," while Meghan interjected: "Babe, time to do our daily $250,000 sponsored Instagram post for Del Taco."
"I shouldn't have left the made-up nonsense," Harry is shown to reply, hinting at regret of leaving the royal family.
Harry and Meghan did not respond to this round of pop-culture spoofing.
James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek's royal reporter, based in London. You can find him on X (formerly Twitter) at @jrcrawfordsmith and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.
Do you have a question about King Charles III, William and Kate, Meghan and Harry, or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@newsweek.com. We'd love to hear from you.
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About the writer
James Crawford-Smith is a Newsweek Royal Reporter, based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on the British royal family ... Read more
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