The Windsors

Series overview

The Windsors tells the story of the British Royal family but re-imagined through the lens of a soap opera. Although the stories are completely fictional, they are inspired by real events.

Taking their cue from tabloid tittle-tattle and caricature, Camilla becomes a cartoon villain who is hell-bent on becoming Queen, while Pippa Middleton, played by 33-year old Robinson, is catty and highly envious of her older sister. "I honed my Pippa skills through the medium of boarding school; I channelled all the girls I went to school with and basically put them all into one character," says Robinson who also appears in comedies House of Fools and Toast of London. "There's only one interview I've seen and she's very nervous – so much lovelier and very sweet compared to my version of her." Prince Andrew is a failure; his daughters Beatrice and Eugenie are, according to Tyler Moore, "slightly dim girls", and the Queen and Prince Philip are physically absent but frequently mentioned by the other characters.

Kate Middleton is portrayed as a gypsy traveller who doesn't fit in but wants to whilst her sister Pippa is portrayed as a jealous attention seeker who sleeps with Harry and tries to seduce William as well. Husband Prince William is a well meaning character and probably the most normal. Prince Harry, who enjoys partying and is very naive and illiterate, loves Pippa Middleton's bum. Edward is an alcoholic. Prince Charles, a lover of his Royal Dutchy biscuits, is said to be the most realistic of the impressions and characters in the show. Princess Beatrice and Eugenie (played by Ellie White and Celeste Dring respectively), are a couple of useless rich Sloanes searching for purpose in life, in the fringes of the family. Until they get radicalised, that is.

Channel 4 described the show, in a statement: “The series is a wry take on what the soap opera of their lives (and loves) might just be like. Delving behind the headlines and gossip columns, The Windsors lets our imaginations run riot in this ludicrous parody. "Imagine, who really controls the sceptre in Charles and Camilla’s marriage? What do the Royals really think of Kate? Does Wills really want to be King? Will Harry ever take Pippa up the aisle or will they end on a bum note? And what do Beatrice and Eugenie actually do for a living?" C4’s head of comedy Phil Clarke added: “In The Windsors, our much-loved Royal family is re-imagined through the lens of a soap opera, and although the stories are completely fictional, some are inspired by real events. As a result, writers Bert and George have outdone even the funniest, most ludicrous issue of Hello! magazine ever.”

Reception

The first episode of the series had mixed reviews.

The Guardian was more favourable when it said "High-brow humour this is not. But, despite a number of cast and crew comparing the show to Spitting Image, The Windsors doesn’t feel like satire: more a comic drama that makes the odd comment about monarchy."

"The Windsors was low-budget, crude and rude. But it was all done with such cacophonous relish that resistance was useless. There’s not much of this kind of punk comedy around on television at the moment, where deep, mordant, The Office-style irony has long been the dominant mode. But who doesn’t like a little mischief? You can be a fan of Beethoven and the Buzzcocks too."

"A pitiful ‘parody’ of life down Buck House way!. If you were writing a sitcom about the Royal Family, would you have Harry coming over as a bit thick, Fergie being rather attention-seeking and Camilla as a cartoon villain? Of course you wouldn’t, as that would be way too obvious; though maybe you could go down that road and put a spin on it somehow? Not Jeffrie and Tyler-Moore as they do the obvious and a whole lot less, such as making Edward out to be a lost soul with an empty diary, having William as a square-jawed helicopter hero and Pippa enjoying people constantly gazing at her ‘fantastic arse’. And most incredibly of all, the Duke of Edinburgh is, wait for it, a little bit racist. It’s certainly gratifying to see some upcoming Fringe comedy acts landing parts, such as Ellie White and Celeste Dring as the all-too predictably shallow Beatrice and Eugenie while Katy Wix has a blast as their tragically pitiable mum. But, sadly, all the talent on show are let down by a woefully predictable and utterly laugh-free script. Off with their heads!"

Its content was criticised: "The new series, which stars Harry Enfield as Prince Charles, will air on Channel 4 in May and is already causing outrage among royalists over its explicit and ‘offensive’ comedy. Details about the show were revealed in The Sun today and storylines will include Kate Middleton catching Ebola, Prince Harry sleeping with Pippa Middleton and Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall falling pregnant, aged 68. Other 'jokes' in the series will include Kate Middleton being tricked into wearing a one-legged pirate costume to an amputee war veterans event and Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice planning to escape to Syria and wearing burkas. The controversial plots have been defended by the writers, who say the show’s tone is "plainly silly" and "ridiculous". Prince Philip and The Queen will not appear in the series, except in explicit emails and letters to the rest of the family. Alongside Harry Enfield, the rest of the cast includes Haydn Gwynne (Drop the Dead Donkey) as Camilla, The Duchess of Cornwall. Hugh Skinner (W1A) is heralded as Prince 'Wills' William, Duke of Cambridge with Louise Ford (Crashing) his Queen consort-in-waiting, 'Kate', the Duchess of Cambridge. Morgana Robinson (The Morgana Show) will star as Kate's sister, Pippa and Richard Goulding (Fresh Meat) takes his place fifth in line to the throne as Prince Harry.