5 Celebrities Who Have Had Issues With King Charles

The British monarchy hasn’t always come off as charming to a lot of people. While King Charles took over the throne with decades of royal experience behind him, he also had to deal with years of backlash. This includes sharp public attacks from comedians, television personalities, musicians, and so on. They have unabashedly and openly questioned both the monarch and the institution he represents.

Joy Behar made headlines when she openly took a shot at King Charles in one of her The View episodes. As she discussed Prince Harry’s Memoir, Spare, and his and Meghan Markle’s eviction from Frogmore Cottage, Behar openly questioned whether Charles was being “a little petty for a king.” Her strongest criticism largely centered around the fact that Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor could potentially move into the property. So Behar remarked, “So they’re just as corrupt as anybody else.” The blunt remark began circulating in the media outlets both across the Atlantic and within it. 

Late Night host Stephen Colbert has also mocked the monarchy. But King Charles became his favorite target in 2023, around the time of his coronation. On The Late Show, Colbert was heavy-handed with sarcasm regarding the ceremonial anointing oil used at the coronation. He said, “If a king's head isn't greased with whale intestine wax and secretions from a nocturnal tropical rodent, then I'm sorry, but hereditary rulers start to sound kind of stupid!” He also took a dig at all the celebrities who declined invitations to perform during the coronation concert, including Ed Sheeran and Adele.

Host Trevor Noah also had a lot to say about King Charles after his accession in 2022. In an episode of The Daily Show, Noah mocked a viral moment that had the King becoming frustrated over a leaking pen as he signed official documents. As he reacted to the footage, Noah chimed in, “Looks like King Charles isn’t the guy to do it.” He also mocked the fact that the monarch surrounds himself with handlers for menial work: “When I was a kid, I thought Kings had to pull swords out of stones.”

Musician Morrissey has spent many years talking against the royal family. King Charles has been a recurring target. Back in 1986, Morrissey and his globally renowned band 'The Smiths' released the song ‘The Queen Is Dead,’ and it had lyrics that directly referred to Charles. They said, “I say, 'Charles, don't you ever crave / To appear on the front of the Daily Mail / Dressed in your Mother's bridal veil?”

Shock Jock Howard Stern also harshly spoke about King Charles during the coronation coverage in 2023. During his SiriusXM show, Stern said that the ceremony was “disgusting” as in the face of British economic struggles, the extravagant royal affair came off as tone deaf. As per CNBC, the estimated cost of the event was somewhere between $63-$125 million. He stated, “England's having its own economic problems, and they spent a fortune on that coronation. And it's just repugnant to watch a country that’s suffering through economic problems, and then you see the pomp and circumstance.”