King Charles III and his daughter-in-law, Meghan Markle, were the subject of a brutal joke on the latest instalment of Saturday Night Live following the monarch’s recent trip to the United States. During the show, the King’s historic visit to meet with President Donald Trump with Queen Camilla was mocked, and Meghan was branded a “terrorist” during the controversial episode. Host Michael Che commented on Charles’ meeting with New York’s mayor Zohran Mamdani, saying: “I’m surprised he didn’t take Mamdani back to England with him, because he is an Indian treasure.” He was referencing the mayor’s previous comments in which he urged the King to return the Koh-i-Noor diamond, which the British East India Company seized.
Colin Jost then said Charles’ visit was a subterfuge to “seek the release of a British hostage being held by an American terrorist” – and he clearly was referring to Prince Harry’s marriage to Meghan as a picture of the couple appeared on the screen.
The hosts also joked about Trump’s association with Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor on the installation.
The jokes about Charles came just days after his four-day tour in the US to mark the 250th anniversary of the United States.
Trump hailed Charles “the greatest king in my book” when he said farewell to the monarch as the state visit drew to an end.
As Charles and Camilla were driven away, Trump told the press: “Really great people. We need more people like that in our country.”
In the wake of the trip, a royal aide told the BBC: “It’s not a competition between the King and the government.
“The King is there to support the government, to help the government. It was at the government’s request, of course, that he undertook this visit.”
A YouGov opinion poll released on Saturday suggested the UK public has been impressed by the King’s performance in the US. A total of 4,5000 took part in the survey.
