Britons outraged by American cartoon portraying royal family as selfish tea drinkers controlled by mafia boss

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Correction: An earlier version of this article misidentified Gary Janetti’s role in “Family Guy”. Janetti was a co-executive producer on the show, not the creator. This version has been corrected.

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LONDON – “The Prince”, a new satirical American animated series from one of the producers of “Family Guy” which portrays the British royal family as a collection of dysfunctional and selfish tea drinkers raising their young children to be spoiled tyrants and brutal, sparked outrage in the UK.

The official trailer, released by HBO Max on Wednesday, features Prince William with a butternut squash-shaped head, while his youngest son Prince Louis, 3, is transformed into a cockney rebel running around the palace growling requests. The series was made available to stream in the United States on Thursday.

Queen Elizabeth II is characterized as a mafia boss dripping with pearls and gold, while heir to the throne Prince Charles is portrayed as a power hungry mom boy who has waited far too long to become King.

Critics say the harshest portrayal, however, is of Prince George, 8, the eldest child of Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge. The young prince, third on the throne, is presented as a legitimate child who worries about his weight and harbors bad feelings towards his siblings.

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On social media, many called the show “bad” and “disgusting”, complaining that the series would fuel hatred towards the British Royal Family and the younger family members who may one day learn of the project’s existence. .

Creator Gary Janetti has defended his portrayal of the monarchy, urging people to adopt it as a parody that serves to entertain audiences.

“Everything is done with affection,” Janetti said. He said his goal was to create a “super funny” production.

Janetti has, over the years, been criticized for using her Instagram account to make fun of the young prince. After the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in 2018, the American writer was castigated for speculating on George’s sexuality, insinuating that he was in a relationship with a young pageboy. George was 4 at the time.

The cast of “The Prince” includes Orlando Bloom as Prince Harry, Lucy Punch as Catherine and “Game of Thrones” star Sophie Turner as Princess Charlotte.

Earlier this year, Turner slammed the paparazzi for photographing his young child and called for better privacy protection for minors.

“I am disgusted, I am disgusted and I respectfully ask everyone to stop following us,” she said on Instagram after the posting of images which she said were taken without consent.

Some on social media have fulminated that his decision to be on the new series was hypocritical given his parody of young royals and his recent rant about the need for privacy.

The fact that Harry and Bloom are apparently friends has also led some to criticize the actor’s decision to get involved in the show as the voice of the prince.

Speaking earlier this year, Harry said Bloom, who lives near his home in Los Angeles, had helped him deal with the problem of invasive paparazzi, warning him when photographers search for images of his young children are nearby.

British newspapers have also condemned the series, with the Daily Telegraph writing that its creators present young George as “spoiled, sneering and with a sharp tongue”. The Daily Mail asked the question, “Should children be ‘off limits’ in comedy?

Richard Palmer, royal correspondent for the Daily Telegraph, joined the critics this week, tweeting: “Someone who traffickers a little boy won’t appeal to them. Would an American company commission a similar series on the child of an American president?

Others have championed the animated series, encouraging others to lighten up and enjoy comedy, arguing that people have the right to free speech, including comedians and creatives.

The past few years have been tumultuous for the British royal family, which have faced ever-growing rumors of a split between brothers William and Harry and the loss of Prince Philip, 99, the Queen’s husband, in April .