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The Windsors

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The Windsors
GenreSitcom/parody
Written byGeorge Jeffrie
Bert Tyler-Moore
Directed byAdam Miller
StarringHarry Enfield
Haydn Gwynne
Hugh Skinner
ComposerIan Masterson
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series3
No. of episodes20
Production
Executive producersRobert Wulff-Cochrane
Camilla Campbell
ProducerIzzy Mant
Running time23–25 minutes
Production companiesNoho Film and TV
Original release
NetworkChannel 4 (HD)
Release6 May 2016 (2016-05-06) –
31 March 2020 (2020-03-31)

The Windsors is a British sitcom and parody of the British royal family, the House of Windsor. It was first broadcast on Channel 4 in April 2016 and stars Harry Enfield, Haydn Gwynne, Hugh Skinner, Louise Ford, Richard Goulding, Tom Durant-Pritchard, Kathryn Drysdale, Morgana Robinson, Ellie White, and Celeste Dring.[1]

Written by the co-creators of Star Stories, Bert Tyler-Moore and George Jeffrie, The Windsors is a satirical portrayal of the British royal family.

Synopsis

The Windsors tells the story of the British royal family but re-imagined as a soap opera. Although the stories are completely fictional, they are inspired by real events.[2]

Taking their cue from tabloid tittle-tattle and caricature, Camilla becomes a cartoon villain who is hell-bent on becoming Queen, in order to redeem herself in the eyes of a public whom she believes – with some justification (in the fictional world of the series) – to be hostile towards her for having usurped Diana, Princess of Wales. She believes that, after decades of a monarch perceived as unfashionable,[3] they had been looking forward to a glamorous, sexually provocative Queen with "the full, magnificent mammaries of a macromastic Milking Shorthorn". She believed the public rationalised to itself the shallowness of this desire by affecting to admire Diana for her charity work, but that this was belied by their relative antipathy toward Princess Anne, who "achieves more before breakfast on a wet Sunday morning than Little Miss Doe-eyes did in a lifetime of heroic hugging." She therefore hopes to improve her standing with the public by changing her appearance, rather than by making herself a more sympathetic person. She fixates on various ways in which she might achieve this, but never actually carries out any of the schemes she imagines. In scenes visually resonant of the "nose cards" scene[4] in the Steve Martin movie Roxanne, Camilla is shown looking at herself in profile in a Kensington Palace pier glass while holding analogous "breast cards" to her chest.

Pippa Middleton, played by Morgana 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. "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.[5]

Kate Middleton is portrayed as a gypsy traveller who doesn't fit in but longs to, whilst her sister Pippa is portrayed as a jealous attention-seeker who has sex with Harry and tries to seduce William as well. Prince William is a well-meaning character and probably the most normal. Prince Harry, who enjoys partying and is illiterate and very naive, loves Pippa Middleton's bum. Edward is an alcoholic. Prince Charles, a lover of his Duchy Originals biscuits. Princess Beatrice of York and Princess Eugenie of York are two useless, rich Sloanes, searching for purpose in life – until they seem, briefly, to become radicalised.[6]

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."[7]

Cast

Episodes

Series overview

SeriesEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast aired
166 May 2016 (2016-05-06)3 June 2016 (2016-06-03)
Special23 December 2016 (2016-12-23)
265 July 2017 (2017-07-05)16 August 2017 (2017-08-16)
Special15 May 2018 (2018-05-15)
3625 February 2020 (2020-02-25)31 March 2020 (2020-03-31)

Series 1 (2016)

No. Title Original air date Viewers
(millions)
1"Episode One"6 May 2016 (2016-05-06)2.37
Charles tries to keep his family in order, but Wills wants to mingle with the people and he works as an air ambulance pilot. Pippa seduces Harry. Beatrice and Eugenie plan to start a business demonstrating make-up on social media. Kate volunteers to help Harry with his fancy dress charity ball, but makes an embarrassing faux pas when she is persuaded by Camilla to wear a Long John Silver outfit in front of military amputees.
2"Episode Two"6 May 2016 (2016-05-06)1.56
Kate and Wills visit a centre for asylum seekers but Kate contracts ebola and is hospitalized. Fergie wrongly believes her two daughters have been radicalised. Harry becomes attracted to Pippa, after she flirts with him. Camilla discovers she is pregnant.
3"Episode Three"13 May 2016 (2016-05-13)1.52
Charles finds out that he fathered a son, Richard, by one of The Three Degrees during the 1970s. Richard becomes second in line to the throne. William and Kate move to a semi-detached house in Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire to live an ordinary, middle-class life. Richard is killed in a motorcyle crash, strongly implied to have been deliberately caused by Camilla sabotaging it. Harry is told to marry Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's daughter, but at the last moment he decides not to. William and Kate return to royal life.
4"Episode Four"20 May 2016 (2016-05-20)1.82
Kate meets Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury. They get on almost too well and share a kiss. Wills wants to modernise the Royal Variety Show, while Harry goes on a bender when he learns that Pippa is getting married. Beatrice tries to solve her money problems by getting a job, and Camilla's plans suffer a setback.
5"Episode Five"27 May 2016 (2016-05-27)1.42
William calls for a referendum on the abolition of the monarchy which takes place.
6"Episode Six"3 June 2016 (2016-06-03)1.56
The Windsors deal with the outcome of the referendum; However, the monarchy being abolished turns out to be a dream in William's head – they in fact lost the referendum and the monarchy continued. Wills and Kate renew their vows and Camilla has a plan to put Charles back to first-in-line to the throne having given the title up to William.

Christmas Special (2016)

No. Title Original air date Viewers
(millions)
7"Christmas Special"23 December 2016 (2016-12-23)1.28
The Windsors have Christmas at Sandringham, where Kate makes a mess of Christmas lunch and is almost lobotomised by Princess Anne and Camilla, and Harry becomes infatuated with Ellie Goulding which results in Pippa leaving him at the end of the episode for a recently recovered homeless Amnesiac billionaire hedge-fund manager she met while somewhat unwillingly volunteering at a soup kitchen. Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie release a song online called 'Daddy come home for Christmas' which goes to number 1 in Azerbaijan. Elsewhere, Charles declares war on the European Union during a Christmas speech and Fergie realises that Andrew has been using her for tax avoidance.

Series 2 (2017)

No. Title Original air date Viewers
(millions)
1"Episode One"5 July 2017 (2017-07-05)1.28
Camilla thinks she has found a new friend in Prime Minister Theresa May and is determined to persuade Prince Charles to help secure a trade deal with the Chinese - but is she just a pawn in the PM's game.
2"Episode Two"12 July 2017 (2017-07-12)0.96
Harry opens a nightclub and asks Kate to DJ. Meanwhile, Wills learns the art of banter and Camilla decides to donate a kidney to a disabled 12-year-old to make the public finally like her. Charles and Camilla's home becomes rampaged by wild animals after Charles attempts to ban pesticides in the palace gardens.
3"Episode Three"19 July 2017 (2017-07-19)0.97
Kate is reluctant to join a pheasant shoot at Sandringham, Harry seeks revenge on Johnny, and Wills stumbles across his father's identical twin, Chuck.
4"Episode Four"26 July 2017 (2017-07-26)0.88
Kate and Wills visit Charles' traditionalist new town, Poundbury in Dorset. Pippa ponders whether she should leave Johnny after discovering that he has lost his fortune.
5"Episode Five"2 August 2017 (2017-08-02)N/A
The Royals gather at Balmoral. Camilla plots her revenge on Theresa May, Pippa plans to wreck Harry's relationship with Meghan, Charles is a hit with the Scots and Wills is shot by a Highland lassie, "Flame", who turns out to be Nicola Sturgeon off duty.
6"Episode Six"16 August 2017 (2017-08-16)N/A
Donald Trump (Corey Johnson) visits to offer an "endorsement" to Charles, but wants Camilla's favours in return. Wills awakens Theresa May from her coma by kissing her, and the new copy of the Magna Carta is found to be a fake, putting an end to the idea of absolute monarchy. Pippa's hen party is attended by Beatrice, Eugenie and their mother. Harry tries to stop the wedding, but turns up too late.

Royal Wedding Special (2018)

No. Title Original air date Viewers
(millions)
1"Royal Wedding Special"15 May 2018 (2018-05-15)N/A
In a "Royal Wedding Special", during the week leading up to the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Pippa plots to poison Meghan while fattening Kate up so that she will not be able to wear her wedding outfit. Princess Beatrice embarks on an affair with Jeremy Corbyn (played by Tom Basden). Fergie unexpectedly receives an invitation to the wedding, but it clashes with a lucrative opportunity to commentate on the wedding for a TV station.[10]

Series 3 (2020)

Channel 4 stated that a third series of The Windsors would premiere early in 2020. The production aims to address recent topical stories about the Royal Family, including the apparent feud between Wills and Kate and Harry and Meghan. Tom Durant-Pritchard took over the role of Prince Harry from Richard Goulding.[11] The six-episode series began broadcasting on 25 February 2020.

No. Title Original air date Viewers
(millions)
1"Episode One"25 February 2020 (2020-02-25)N/A
With the country divided, the government have asked the royals to cheer up Britain. Wills, Kate, Harry and Meghan are excited to bring the British people together; meanwhile, Prince Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Edward and Prince Andrew, are striking from all royal duties in protest of the minimal rise to the Sovereign Grant. Confident that this will only make The Fab Four even more popular, Camilla plots to cause a rift between them. Meanwhile, Beatrice has set up a new drinks brand called 'GinVoddieRum' and wants Eugenie to be her business partner. The older royals are disheartened when nobody seems to notice that they're striking, so Charles tries to persuade Wills to join forces; Wills is torn and is given advice by a portrait of Queen Victoria.
2"Episode Two"3 March 2020 (2020-03-03)N/A
Charles and Camilla have reluctantly agreed to visit the Middletons' house with Wills and Kate. Longstanding rivalry between Kate and Pippa prevails when the race is on to get their father Mike Middleton the best birthday present. Meanwhile, Fergie has only got two VIP tickets to Glastonbury and has to choose between Beatrice and Eugenie. Harry and Meghan are enjoying married life, but when Meghan catches Harry in a compromising situation with Pippa, Harry is in trouble. Charles overhears Mike on the phone, threatening to chop off Charles and Camilla's heads. He tells Camilla who has had enough of Carol.
3"Episode Three"10 March 2020 (2020-03-10)N/A
Camilla warns Charles that the nation thinks he's an eccentric crank. In a bid to prove her wrong, Charles befriends a blind man who doesn't recognise him and can judge his ideas on their merits. Wills wants his Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award, and Uncle Edward agrees to help him. Once out in open countryside, though, they're kidnapped by an unscrupulous farmer, who sees them as cheap labour. Meghan thinks Kate is behaving strangely and discovers that she has been replaced by a robot. When confronted by the real Kate and robot Kate, Meghan can't tell them apart. Meanwhile, Beatrice worries that Eugenie only got her art gallery job because she's a princess. After a boozy lunch, Eugenie discovers an original Banksy on a wall. In preparation for becoming King, Charles is given one of the Queen's roles: he's now Defender of the Faith.
4"Episode Four"17 March 2020 (2020-03-17)N/A
Charles is taking his new role as Defender of All Faiths very seriously, so when the Highgrove village branch leader of the Church of Satan invites him to officiate a Black Mass, Charles accepts - much to Camilla's dismay. Wills wants to prove to Kate that he's man enough to handle their home renovations, but he is tricked by their builder into buying a £30 million platinum RSJ. Meanwhile, Kate is worried that Wills might be cheating on her. Beatrice and Eugenie are working as lowly chalet girls at Fergie's Verbier pad. Forced to attend the society event of the season in her mother's 1980s cast-offs, Beatrice catches the eye of Europe's most eligible bachelor, Count Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi. Harry meets his doppelganger on a hospital visit and they agree to swap lives for a day.
5"Episode Five"24 March 2020 (2020-03-24)N/A
Kate complains that royal duties are hard, so Pippa sets out to prove her wrong, while Beatrice and Eugenie are offered millions to be the face of a new Japanese perfume - on the condition they never associate with their mother again. Charles is smitten with the new manager of the Highgrove gift shop, while Anne has a schoolgirl crush on her special friend David Beckham. However, Wills fears that the footballer is only using Anne to get himself a knighthood. Meghan is horrified to discover the shocking secrets in Harry's family history, and announces her intention to return to America.
6"Episode Six"31 March 2020 (2020-03-31)N/A
Donald Trump invites Charles and Camilla to abandon England and become king and queen of America - but Wills suspect there is a sinister agenda behind the offer. Harry offers Pippa a job as his children's nanny, and Meghan makes a speech at the UN - but is persuaded to deliver it in Mandarin. Beatrice is disappointed that recent revelations will stop her father walking her down the aisle - but her mother is more than happy to step in.

Endgame stage play

Main article: The Windsors: Endgame

On 9 June 2021, it was announced that a stage play called The Windsors: Endgame will open at the Prince of Wales Theatre in London's West End from 2 August to 9 October 2021. It will be written by Jeffrie and Tyler-Moore, directed by Michael Fentiman and feature members of the cast from the TV show including Harry Enfield as Charles, Matthew Cottle as Edward, Tom Durant-Pritchard as Harry and Tim Wallers as Andrew.[12][13]

Reception

The Guardian was 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."[14]

The Daily Telegraph wrote: "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."[15]

In his review for The List, Brian Donaldson wrote: "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!"[6]

Season 2 of The Windsors was described by The Guardian as 'riotous hilarity',[16] while The Telegraph called it a "right royal romp".[17]

Sam Wollaston, writing for The Guardian, said of the Royal Wedding Special, "I worried an hour might be a stretch, but I needn't have", and suggested that the characters of Beatrice and Eugenie should have their own spin-off series.[10]

References

  1. ^ Wollaston, Sam (7 May 2016). "The Windsors review – Harry Enfield demolishes the monarchy". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Channel 4 crowns cast of satirical soap The Windsors". channel4.com. 16 February 2016. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
  3. ^ Munzenrieder, Kyle (16 September 2016). ""Quirky" Queen Elizabeth is Finally Having a Fashion Moment". Retrieved 9 May 2017.
  4. ^ ""Roxanne" nose cards scene". YouTube. Retrieved 9 May 2017.
  5. ^ "New satirical TV comedy The Windsors pokes fun at the royal family". gloucestershirelive.co.uk. 5 May 2016. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  6. ^ a b Donaldson, Brian (27 April 2016). "TV review: The Windsors, Channel 4". The List. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  7. ^ Dowell, Ben (16 February 2016). "Channel 4 comedy The Windsors to see the funny side of Kate, Wills and the British monarchy". Radio Times. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  8. ^ Goldsbrough, Susannah (25 February 2020). "The Windsors' New Prince Harry: 'He's gone from rugger bugger to yogi'". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
  9. ^ a b c Mitchell, Molli (5 March 2020). "The Windsors cast: Who is in the cast of Royal Family drama The Windsors?". Daily Express. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
  10. ^ a b Sam Wollaston (15 May 2018). "The Windsors Royal Wedding Special review – gloriously brazen satire". The Guardian.
  11. ^ A new Prince Harry for The Windsors dated 16 December 2019 at comedy.co.uk
  12. ^ "Harry Enfields stars as Prince Charles in THE WINDSORS: ENDGAME in the West End this August". bestoftheatre.co.uk. 9 June 2021. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
  13. ^ "Cast announcement for THE WINDSORS: ENDGAME". bestoftheatre.co.uk. 24 June 2021. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
  14. ^ Duggins, Alexi (6 May 2016). "The Windsors: behind the scenes of a right royal send-up". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  15. ^ Wilson, Benji (6 May 2016). "The Windsors was rude, crude – and a real blast of punk comedy". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  16. ^ Sam Wollaston (6 July 2017). "The Windsors review – you'd watch this riotous parody if you were them". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
  17. ^ Michael Hogan (5 July 2017). "The Windsors, series 2 episode 1 review: all the subtlety and nuance of a Donald Trump tweet". The Telegraph. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
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