A spoof of Queen Elizabeth's recent Christmas Day speech appeared on Instagram over the weekend to promote the upcoming HBO Max animated series The Prince, which features a sassy Prince George
The show's creator Gary Janetti posted the short clip on his social media account, where Queen Elizabeth, voiced by Frances de la Tour, discussed the horrible year brought on by the catastrophes like the COVID-19 pandemic and the devastating bushfires in Australia.
However, 7-year-old Prince George, voiced by Janetti, upstages his great-grandmother in the spoof speech for bemoaning what he perceived as this year's tragedy. He mentions the postponement of the release of the latest James Bond movie, Coachella's cancellation, and the departure of Denise Richards from The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.
The spoof also showed the Queen saying something vulgar. The clip ended with Prince George literally dropping the mic as he wished the commoners a Merry Christmas.
Janetti's latest post about The Prince has earned nearly 200,000 views as of press time.
HBO Max signed on the comedy writer for $7 million after his Instagram parody account of the third in line to the British throne became a big hit with nearly a million followers.
The Prince will also feature Game of Thrones actress Sophie Turner as the voice of Princess Charlotte and Orlando Bloom as the voice of Prince Harry. Lucy Punch, Iwan Rheon, Condola Rashad, and Dan Stevens recorded the voices of Kate Middleton, Prince William, Meghan Markle, Prince Charles, and Prince Philip, respectively.
But the series has drawn some outrage even before its launch. According to Daily Express, royal fans have accused Janetti of bullying a 7-year-old child, who happens to be a member of the royal family and the future King of the United Kingdom.
On Twitter, some netizens have been urging royal fans to pressure the powers-that-be to look into the series and protect George. Short of asking for its cancellation, the fans said that the show is done in "very bad taste" and is vicious towards the royal family.
Industry insiders also disagreed with the show's concept. An unnamed executive from Disney, HBO's rival streaming service, accused Janetti of cruelty and "taking cheap shots" for laughs.
Royal fans want HBO Max to reconsider the series and let George grow up as normally as possible. A show like The Prince will bear "terrible repercussions" for the royal child, which fans said should never be allowed.
Katherine Singh, a TV critic from the United Kingdom, warned that whatever people say about this young royal based on the TV series could seriously impact him. Prince George can understand what's going on as a 7-year-old, but he has no say in his life at this point as he remains under the guidance of his parents, William and Kate.
George in The Prince is portrayed as a cursing kid with questionable sexuality. Janetti, however, defended that the series was made with affection, and he's hoping that the royals will appreciate the sense of humor behind it.
