The Windsors, series 2 episode 1 review: all the subtlety and nuance of a Donald Trump tweet
The Prince of Wales called Theresa May “that awful woman” and “the worst Prime Minister since Gordon Brown”. Mrs May and the Duchess of Cornwall brawled on the plush palace carpet, with pearls and mid-heel court shoes flying in all directions.
No, this wasn’t leaked footage from the Prime Minister’s latest weekly audience at Buckingham Palace. It was right royal romp The Windsors (Channel 4).
As the spoof monarchical soap opera returned for a second series, the UK was struggling for trading partners post-Brexit, so May (Gillian Bevan) persuaded a kilt-clad Charles and a chain-smoking, gin-soaked Camilla (Harry Enfield and Haydn Gwynne) to host a banquet for the Chinese. Cue “hilarious consequences”, as is industry standard in sitcom.
Elsewhere, Harry (Richard Goulding) was worried that his newfound love for American divorcée Meghan Markle (Kathryn Drysdale) – “Do you recognise me from TV drama Suits?” “No, from the Mail Online” – could cause an Edward VIII-style rift. It was unlike the prince to take an historical view – until he admitted he’d been “binge-watching The Crown on Netflix”.
Jealous Pippa Middleton (Morgana Robinson) put a “gypsy curse” on sister Kate (Louise Ford), while hapless William (Hugh Skinner) was trying and failing to be a hands-on father. “The wheels on the Rolls go round and round…” he sang.
The odd decent one-liner aside, this wasn’t sophisticated satire. It had all the subtlety and nuance of a Donald Trump tweet. Mrs May was depicted as potty-mouthed, whereas all indications are that in reality, she doesn’t appear to swear. When the writers couldn’t think of a gag, they simply replaced it with an elongated vowel.
Most of the characters remained one-joke caricatures: Charles talked to plants, Edward was a useless luvvie, Beatrice and Eugenie were permanently on holiday, Fergie was exploiting her increasingly tenuous regal connections to flog her range of Right Royal Juicers.
More promisingly, the scene-stealing Vicki Pepperdine joined the regular cast as austere Princess Anne – channelling Mrs Danvers and Miss Trunchbull as she terrified the feckless young royals into submission.
Broad, brash and camp, this was panto-style comedy. Entertaining enough but lewd and low on actual wit. Forget Mrs Brown’s Boys. This should be renamed Mrs Windsor’s Boys. I don’t mean that entirely as a compliment.
