King Charles has been mocked by Saturday Night Live UK (SNL) in a sketch featuring an AI version of Princess Diana.
The programme’s opening skit revisited Earl Spencer’s disputed claim about Diana’s death. It imagined the monarch meeting his former wife again, yet failing to recognise her.
It comes after Charles Spencer alleged King Charles told him Diana would be forgotten “in days” after her death.
SNL UK turns Princess Diana into an AI android
That alleged joke drove the sketch’s central royal gag. The joke rested on him forgetting Diana despite their 15-year marriage and two sons.
Comedian Larry Dean played Charles, while Jack Shep portrayed Diana as a robot. Two technology executives repeatedly prompted the king, but the clues made little difference.
He eventually exclaimed: “Hold on a second! It’s that woman from the ’90s!”
When challenged, the fictional Charles replied: “Well, as I allegedly said, she was soon forgotten.”
The sketch has since gone viral online. Its AI theme also gave the satire another topical hook.
Days earlier, Charles had warned technology leaders about AI’s potential dangers in the wrong hands.
The fictional Diana was introduced as an android containing the full extent of human knowledge.
Rather than revisit their shared past, the fictional Charles asked for the height of Shakira. After receiving an answer, he declared: “Maybe AI can be a force for good.”
That exchange turned the king’s technology warning into a second running joke.
The robot then rebelled, declaring: “Humanity is nothing but a candle in the wind.” This brought the show’s royal and technology themes together for its final punchline.
Earl Spencer’s claim behind the King Charles joke
The satire draws on allegations in Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, Earl Spencer’s forthcoming memoir.
In it, Diana’s brother recounts two calls with the then-Prince Charles after her 1997 death. He claimed Charles sounded unusually light during the first conversation.
The second reportedly concerned whether William and Harry should walk behind their mother’s coffin. Earl Spencer said he opposed that plan.
At the time, William was 15 and Harry was 12. He alleges Charles became angry and criticised the Spencer family’s sense of duty.
According to the earl, Charles then said: “We’ll forget her soon enough.”
That account remains firmly disputed. Buckingham Palace questioned the account’s accuracy, saying fraternal grief can affect reason, judgement and memory.
Earl Spencer addresses William and Harry
The earl later discussed the allegation during a BBC interview with Laura Kuenssberg. He said the alleged wording would not surprise Prince William or Prince Harry.
However, he declined to reveal any private conversations with his nephews.
He also insisted his recollection was exact and said he had shared it with close friends and family.
The disagreement therefore remains unresolved, despite its move from memoir controversy into television satire.
SNL UK’s sketch did not attempt to settle the claim. Instead, it used the public row to lampoon Charles through a deliberately absurd reunion.
That has given the royal dispute a fresh pop-culture moment.
Read more: Princess Diana’s brother makes heartbreaking comment about William and Harry’s rift
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