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WACKY WINDSORS WEDDING
Camilla’s stirring up trouble, Pippa’s trying to stop the ceremony and Harry’s in jail – The Windsors unleashes its outrageous Royal Wedding Special
Steel yourselves for the most irreverent show inspired by Harry and Meghan’s nuptials, The Windsors Royal Wedding Special. The one- off episode of Channel 4’s outrageous Royal Family spoof soap opera sees Charles travelling to Los Angeles to meet Meghan Markle’s yoga-loving mother Doria, Harry spending time in prison and Pippa doing her best to ruin the big day.
‘You can’t avoid the wedding so we are doing a very silly version of it,’ says Richard Goulding, who plays Prince Harry. ‘The royals are put on a pedestal, but we’re far from that. Comedy in the UK pokes fun at authority, which is why it’s great to do this about the Royal Family. But hopefully audiences understand this isn’t exactly The Crown.’
Over two series, Channel 4 has introduced us to a cast who may look and sound a little like Charles, Camilla and co but are ludicrous caricatures. Harry is exceedingly stupid, William wants to be the hero, Camilla is scheming, Charles is a fruitcake, Pippa is an attention-seeker. And Meghan is trying to bring what she thinks is much-needed showbiz pizzazz.
In this one-hour special we follow the Windsors in the run-up to the wedding and the many hitches that threaten to ruin it. Meghan organises a stag do in a spa for her fun-loving fiancé. But Harry escapes and gets in big trouble.
Camilla ( Haydn Gwynne) tries to cause friction between Kate and Meghan while Pippa wants to keep the spotlight on herself and her rear, which grabbed all the attention at her sister’s wedding. Meanwhile, Windsor council has hired a tramp-catcher to clear out the homeless – and William’s out to stop him.
We first met The Windsors’ Meghan at the end of the last series, when she intro- duced herself as ‘Meghan Markle from Suits’. ‘She was a bit ditzy but now there’s more of her being a do-gooder and a humanitarian,’ says Kathryn Drysdale, the Manchester-born actress who plays her. ‘She’s in the driving seat and doesn’t want Harry to have too much fun.’
Richard, who also portrayed Harry in the play King Charles III, adds, ‘There is a sense they’re love’s young dream but also Meghan wants to purge Harry of everything and control him. When it comes to his stag do, he escapes from the spa and heads to Las Vegas. There’s drink and strippers involved – and then he’s sent to prison.’
It’s all exceedingly rude and silly. But there are rumours that the real Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie are fans of the show, and Kate is said to have tuned in.
‘It’s a satire, very far from what they
are really like,’ says Hugh Skinner, the Poldark and W1A actor who plays William. ‘My granny was deeply disturbed by the first series. She said, “It’s not fair – Prince Harry can read really!” Which was missing the joke.
‘But I like to think the Royal Family enjoy it and take it with the pinch of salt it’s meant to be taken with.’
Kathryn adds that for Meghan it may be an insight into the way the Royal Family is perceived in Britain. ‘We have something that other countries don’t have with our relationship with the monarchy,’ she says. ‘As a nation we’ve had some difficult times but they’re always there. That’s charming.’ The Windsors Royal Wedding Special, Tuesday, 9pm, Channel 4.