‘There goes the knighthood!’: Lee Mack pokes fun at Prince Edward during Royal Variety Performance

Comic quipped that a title ‘wouldn’t work for me anyway’

Lee Mack poked fun at Prince Edward during his opening monologue at the Royal Variety Performance.

The stand-up comic hosted the annual celebration at the Royal Albert Hall, which was broadcast on Tuesday (20 December) and attended by the Earl and Countess of Wessex.

In his opening speech, Mack welcomed the audience to the show, before addressing Edward, who is the youngest of Queen Elizabeth II’s children.

“I’ve got three kids,” he told the audience. “The youngest is the naughtiest. It’s always the youngest that’s the trickiest, isn’t it?

“No disrespect,” he added, while the camera cut to a laughing Edward and wife Sophie Windsor.

“There goes the knighthood,” Mack added. “Wouldn’t work for me, anyway. Sir Lee – just sounds like I’m in a bad mood.”

The 2022 Royal Variety Performance is the first to be held since the death of the Queen in September.

It was recorded on 1 December, when England were still in the World Cup, with Mack joking that he should record multiple different jokes based on the outcome of the tournament.

Prince Edward and Countess Sophie (centre) stand during the national anthem (ITV)

Frank Skinner and David Baddiel reconvened with The Lightning Seeds for the event to perform their 1996 football anthem “Three Lions”.

Among the other performers this year are George Ezra, Ellie Goulding, Becky Hill, Fatma Said and Nile Rodgers, who performed with his band Chic.

Sam Ryder also set performed hot off the back of his successful Eurovision entry, while Rita Wilson sang a duet alongside Gregory Porter.

Andrew Lloyd Webber, Gary Barlow, Gareth Malone and members of the London Youth Choir teamed up for a rendition of “Sing”, the song first showcased at the late Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012.

The 2022 Royal Variety Performance (ITV)

Outside of music, the night featured acrobatics from Cirque Du Soleil and Gifford’s Circus. German magicians The Ehrlich Brothers are also on the list, as well as comedians Al Murray, Maisie Adam, Omid Djalili, and Axel Blake.

The recent Olivier award-winning production of Cabaret brought their opening number to the stage, as did Disney’s Newsies.

As ever, the event is being held in aid of the Royal Variety Charity, which provides aid to those in the world of entertainment.