Prince Harry and Meghan Markle face thinly veiled dig from US TV show but fans are divided

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were ruthlessly mocked by a beloved American cartoon, and fans are divided about the cutting portrayal of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

• Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have been mocked by an American cartoon, South Park.
• The portrayal of the Prince and Princess has shocked and divided fans as the couple reportedly drop in US opinion polls.
• In other royal news, Princess Diana's 'desperate' regret over her divorce from Charles detailed in letters sold for more than £145k.

In a recent episode of South Park, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were mercilessly mocked as the show creator caricatures of the royal couple and named them the Prince and Princess of Canada and made persistent thinly veiled digs at the couple.

In the episode titled Worldwide Privacy Tour, the royal couple was shown to be demanding privacy from the public by going on TV shows and taking part in on-screen interviews to demand their privacy - a clear dig at the irony of demanding privacy while also making ensuring you are highly publicized. 

The Prince of Canada (Prince Harry's cartoon caricature) was also shown to be promoting his new autobiography, but instead of it being called Spare, it was in fact called Waaagh. Jokes were also made about the Princess of Canada being superficial and empty on the inside, and the phrase '#DumbPrinceAndHisStupidWife' was used by viewers of the show after the episode aired.

While some viewers were entertained by this portrayal and attributed the brutal joke to the show's typically savage sense of humor, others felt that something more sinister was afoot and the show had been particularly crude in its portrayal of the royal couple.

"Just got done watching South Park's World Wide Privacy Tour episode, and I was stunned. It contained hilarious commentary, and yet had a really profound message about being yourself and not being obsessed with becoming a brand. This bit about Meghan’s “emptiness” was also fabulous!" said one viewer.

"Oh MY Goodness! I have never heard of this show till now but THIS is hilarious! they summed up exactly how we all see this annoying duo #SouthPark #DumbPrinceAndHisStupidWife #Waagh," said another.

Others were very much less impressed with the episode and one viewer tweeted the show saying, "You got the social media uglies demonizing Harry & Meghan — They’ll get death threats while you line your pockets at their expense. Disgusting." 

In the past, the show has not held back from mocking other members of the Royal Family, and even in the episode that focused on mocking the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, a crude re-imagining of Prince William and Kate Middleton's wedding was portrayed, and included a violent sex act.

Critics from the UK argued that the TV show was 'hard to watch' but suggested that it was an 'accolade' to be mocked by such a big show - which has been known to take aim at a number of high-profile celebrities.

However, it was also suggested that the couple has dropped in US opinion polls following the release of Prince Harry's book and their Netflix docuseries. This suggests that the couple has now lost a lot of support and is mostly met with mostly a negative reception from people in the US, which has likely only been exacerbated by their recent portrayal in South Park.

The controversial episode of South Park aired on Wednesday at 10 pm ET/PT in the US and on Thursday, February 16, at 10 pm in the UK. The episodes are now available to view on Paramount+. The episode is the second episode of the 26th season of South Park and is titled, 'The Worldwide Privacy Tour'.