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King Charles’ True Feelings About Harry’s Joke On Royal Family Revealed by Expert

During his appearance at the British-American Business Council's Luncheon, Prince Harry compared the royal family to the royalty in 'Downton Abbey.'

Although Prince Harry and King Charles reunited in September, a lot still needs to be done to mend their fractured relationship. The Duke of Sussex occasionally mentions his family, but it's not always in a positive light. During a recent appearance at the British-American Business Council's 65th Christmas Luncheon on December 5, he compared the royal family to the royalty in the fictional series Downton Abbey. Commenting on his ill-fated quip, royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams suggested that the King would not have minded the joke, as everyone loves the show.

Speaking to the Daily Express, Fitzwilliams noted that Charles certainly would not care about the joke. He said, "This is pretty harmless and actually rather funny. The King won't mind, as it was light-hearted fun and we all love Downton." He also believed that while the innocent comment would have no effect among the royals, it suggested that the Duke was 'at a loss.' He added, "Their (Harry and Meghan's) Netflix contract has been altered, he has lost Sentebale, and whereas there is nothing wrong with a bit of humor, it's time he did something serious as he used to, when he was a working royal!!"

During his speech for the occasion, the Prince had quipped, "People sometimes ask if growing up with the royal family was a bit like [show creator] Julian [Fellowes] Downton Abbey…Yeah, but only one of those worlds is filled with drama, intrigue, elaborate dinners [and] marriages to Americans — and the other is a TV show." The series, which first premiered in 2010, follows an aristocratic family, the Crawleys, navigating the changing social customs in the 1920s and 1930s in England. 

While his Downton Abbey joke may have sat well with the King, Fitzwilliams opined that another joke, cracked at the same event, about US President Donald Trump, was in poor taste. Harry had referenced Trump's controversial stance on migrants. Speaking about England and Scotland's qualification for next year's tournament, he said, "Next year, I know we are looking forward to welcoming more Brits from across the pond." Taking a brutal jab, he quipped, "Provided they behave, and if they make it through customs, and past ICE," sparking laughter from the audience. 

Weighing in on his many insults to Trump, Fitzwilliams slammed, "Harry's been an extra twice in the last week, once in the critically excoriated With Love, Meghan, and the other on Stephen Colbert's The Late Show. The former was pretty meaningless, although we learnt what foods he doesn't like. The latter was silly, and it wasn't wise to mock Donald Trump!" Meanwhile, Trump has often expressed admiration for the royal family, though that sentiment doesn't extend to the Sussexes.