Viewers slam Royal Variety Performance over "painful" Prince William and Kate Middleton jokes

Publish Date: Thursday, 12 December 2019, 2:58PM

While it was filmed last month, UK audiences finally got to watch the annual Royal Variety Performance from their TV screens last night.

The Christmas extravaganza - which sees talent from across the country perform in front of Prince William and Kate Middleton at the London Palladium - was hosted by comics Rob Beckett and Romesh Ranganathan but viewers were less than impressed with the pair, who shared "painful" jokes at the royal couple's expense.

The comedians, who were hosting the show for the first time, poked fun at everything from the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's children to the fact people have to bow at them.

Introducing the couple, Rob said: "We are also joined by some special royal guests tonight. I’m really excited about the royal party being here. I’ve been doing research. I went to Hampton Court Palace for 10 hours. I got lost in the maze."

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The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge attended the Royal Variety Performance at the Palladium Theatre in London. The annual Royal Variety Performance is held in aid of the Royal Variety Charity, of which Her Majesty The Queen is Patron. The money raised from the show helps hundreds of entertainers throughout the UK, who need help and assistance as a result of old age, ill-health, or hard times. #Variety4Charity #RoyalVarietyPerformance

A post shared by Kensington Palace (@kensingtonroyal) on Nov 18, 2019 at 1:06pm PST

He then theatrically bowed, as if he were at a pantomime, before saying that he couldn’t carry on introducing the duo because "duchess" sounded too much like something he would shout when he used to work at the market.

Rob then continued, saying: "Thank you for coming out tonight. You’re on date night. That's exciting. You got the babysitter until midnight or 1am? It's worth that extra 20 quid."

Before Romesh added: "Like me, you’re blessed with three beautiful children. I imagine every morning they come running into your bedroom and you look at their little faces and say, 'I regret this'."

Even though the grinning parents of Prince George, six, Princess Charlotte, four, and Prince Louis, one, took the jokes in good spirits, viewers on Twitter weren't so kind.

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📺🎭 Our followers in the UK can watch the 2019 Royal Variety Performance on @ITV on Tuesday 10th December at 7.30pm. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge attended this year's performance at the London Palladium. The Royal Variety Performance is held in aid of the Royal Variety Charity, of which Her Majesty The Queen is Patron. Money raised from the show is helping hundreds of entertainers throughout the UK who need help and assistance as a result of old age, ill-health, or hard times. #Variety4Charity #RoyalVarietyPerformance

A post shared by Kensington Palace (@kensingtonroyal) on Dec 10, 2019 at 3:05am PST

One viewer said: "Wow. Rob Beckett and Romesh Ranganathan hosting the Royal Variety is painful."

Another wrote: "I feel sorry for William and Kate having to sit through this."

"Poor Wills and Kate having to force laughter for these two idiots," a third added.

While someone else claimed: "It's getting worse. William and Kate must be thinking, 'what is this crap and Romesh is an embarrassment.'"

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