The second episode of Saturday Night Live UK turned its satirical glare to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor in its opening sketch.
Comedian Jack Shep took on the role of the 66-year-old former prince for the skit, which imagined Andrew playing a key part in a scheme to boost the future King Charles’ standing with the public.
The five-minute sketch opens in the year 1997, with the Queen’s third child summoned to meet with MI5 agents to hash out a top secret plan to improve then-Prince Charles’ reputation.
“Since the death of Princess Diana the public have turned on Prince Charles, but still, one day he will be King,” one of the secret service operatives tells Shep’s Andrew. “We need to make him look good.”
Another agent then tells the prince that “the only way to increase the likeability of our future King is to decrease the likeability of everyone around him” – including Andrew, who must take part in “a 29 year plan” to change his image.
The sketch then alluded to Andrew’s friendship with the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, as Shep’s character flicks through a huge file of plans, before asking the spies: “And you actually want me to do all this stuff? Even the bit about befriending a notorious paedophile? Before and after he’s convicted?”
Cast member Larry Dean later appeared in the sketch as Peter Mandelson, who Andrew hails as “the most honourable, ethical politician we have”, while Emma Sidi also made a late cameo as Andrew’s ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson.
Finally, the spies vow that they will step in to save Andrew at any point if he utters the code words “Pizza Express Woking”, in a reference to the former prince’s notorious Newsnight interview from 2019.
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“I’m not sure how I’ll ever fit that into the conversation, but I’ll make it sound as natural as possible,” Shep’s character promises.
The former Duke of York was arrested in February on suspicion of misconduct in public office, over accusations that he had shared confidential information with Epstein while serving as the UK’s special representative for international trade and investment.
He has always denied any wrongdoing in relation to his friendship with the financier.
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