The Swedish royal family is often the subject of speculation or jokes. But in 2003, the palace pulled the ripcord – when Princess Madeleine fell victim to a sketch well below the belt.
Princess Madeleine, 41,’s relationship with the press was not always easy – understandable, given the many rumors that circulated around the daughter of King Carl Gustaf, 74, when she was, for example, still called a “party princess”. But in 2003 things became too colorful for the farm. In a sketch for a Swedish TV comedy show, the royal had to make jokes that pushed the boundaries of good taste. The court was forced to call in its lawyers and stop the broadcast. The duo Natalie Mourad and Sebastian Mattsson now remember this incident in the Royal podcast “Du, kungen!” (German: “You, king!”).
Princess Madeleine falls victim to a “tasteless” skit
In the September 19, 2023 episode with the telling title “Shot glass in the abdomen – the jokes that angered the royal family”, Mourad and Mattsson not only talk about the countless jokes that have been made about the Swedish royal family in the past, but also remind us of the day when the court stopped the broadcast of a comedy show.
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The subject was a satirical sketch that ran on the former show “Pass på” (Eng.: “Pay attention”) on the now canceled youth channel “ZTV” and for which the Swedish comedians David Hellenius and Peter Magnusson were responsible, reported under including the Swedish newspaper “Svensk Damtidning”. In it, for example, Princess Madeleine visited a gynecologist who found a shot glass in her abdomen.
Madeleine is “angry and hurt”: Hof stops broadcast
Too much for the palace and the princess. Elisabeth Tarras-Wahlberg, the court’s press spokeswoman at the time, emphasized to the newspaper “Aftonbladet”: “The princess is not sad. She is more angry and hurt.” She continued: “You can joke about the royal children, but it’s not funny. The royal children are in the public eye and are therefore considered a little more tolerant. But I wonder what these men [die Comedians David Hellenius und Peter Magnusson] would say if they were treated the same way.”
Tarras-Wahlberg concluded: “Legal experts will be consulted.” And the court actually took action with lawyers. The show was canceled on the channel “TV 3”, where it was also supposed to be broadcast, just hours beforehand. The podcast moderators also agree that this type of sketch was “in bad taste”.
Sources used: Dana Press, poddtoppen.se, svenskdam.se, aftonbladet.se