Critics of the Royal Family

[BeatrixFan]

I was listening to "What Becomes a Semi-Legend Most", the 1980s one woman show by Joan Rivers. In it she said;

"I had an affair with Liberace. My husband bought the horseback riding story. So did Prince Charles! That poor b*tch Diana, fancy marrying her off to a gay guy. Oh grow up, Prince Charles is gay, he can't wait for the mother to die, he can become Queen. My husband thinks the Royal Family are good looking, he's English, do you think they're good looking? The Royal Family? A bunch of dogs. Can we talk, a bunch of dogs? Go outside, call their names, Queenie, Duke and Prince and see what comes running along. And the worst is the sister. The sister. Anne. Oh my God is that a horse! Did you see the wedding, she ate the bridal bouquet? And talks fancy. Rich women, you know, talk fancy, like they're hot. Anyway, I got introduced to her, Princess Anne Joan, Joan Princess Anne. She says, "Foffer foffer fuffer fuffer". I said, "This b*tch is putting me on". So as I joke I said, "FOFFER FOFFER" - she invited me for the weekend. She loves me. Her and the mother. She here tonight? The Queen of England? I met the Queen, I didn't know what to do - do you bow, do you curtsey, do you give her a tiperello? The only place I'd seen her was on a stamp so I went up and licked the back of her head. She's all bald back there - brushes it forward. But the Queen, not here? Could be sitting next to you in a housedress and a crown. Oh my God is that a shlep, can we talk? If you are the Queen of England and Wales and Scotland and Canada - shave your legs!".

Hilarious yes? But 20 years later, she's drinking champers with Princess Anne who's she's called a b*tch, the Queen who's she's called a shlep and Prince Charles who's she's called a homosexual at Charles and Camilla's wedding?! Weird or what. I love Joan but this struck me as so odd and the Royal Family seem to embrace Joan. She's done lots of Royal Variety Shows yet she's slammed them in the past. Thoughts?

[ysbel]

I'm more surprised to learn that Edgar, Joan's husband was English! Imagine the straightlaced English gentleman married to the extravagant, gaudy daughter of ex-Russian aristocrats.

That sounds like a match made in hell. I saw a Biography segment on Joan Rivers. Her mother was a Russian aristocrat who never quite grasped the fact that the family had lost all its money in the Revolution. She said she inherited a lot of her mother's idiosynchrities.

For example, she always paid for first class airline tickets even early in her career when she couldn't afford anything else for some reason.

[BeatrixFan]

He was also gay hence why he committed suicide. Very sad business.

[Bella]

I remember Joan Rivers' bashing of the BRF (among her numerous targets) back in The Day. I think the royals "embrace" her 'cuz they're able to laugh at themselves. She's a comedienne. This is her job. Her words may be stinging but I don't think she's necessarily a malicious person. Off center stage, I've heard she's a very sweet and intelligent woman. Perhaps the royals know this.

[Warren]

I think we could understand Joan's invitations to Highgrove as she has been a supporter of the Prince's Trust, but her attendance at the Queen's birthday party at the Ritz threw everyone. Joan knew it too, as she made a point of holding up her invitation to the photographers as she entered the hotel.

Maybe it's a reflection of how little we know of the Queen's larger circle of friends and acquaintences, and of the company she enjoys.

[sm1939]

Originally Posted by BeatrixFan

He was also gay hence why he committed suicide. Very sad business.

who was gay?

[BeatrixFan]

Joan's husband. True Warren, I'd forgotten she attended the Queen's birthday bash at the Ritz.

[EmpressRouge]

Curious: Is Joan Rivers an anti-monarchist, or did she say these things as part of her (tacky) comedy routine?

[BeatrixFan]

I think it was just a standard part of her set in the 80s. If she was anti-monarchist I doubt she'd attend the Royal functions she has.

[hornsen]

Isn´t Joan Rivers a friend of Camilla? Didn´t she accept this "Spouse of the year award" for her? What a shabby statement of her. Can anyone change his opinion so much? Or was it only for show?

[BeatrixFan]

Joan's a close pal of Camilla. She said she bought her lingerie for a wedding present. It's a case of Joan changing her mind totally or Joan gunning for easy laughs in the 80s.

[Little_star]

Originally Posted by Warren

I think we could understand Joan's invitations to Highgrove as she has been a supporter of the Prince's Trust, but her attendance at the Queen's birthday party at the Ritz threw everyone. Joan knew it too, as she made a point of holding up her invitation to the photographers as she entered the hotel.

Maybe it's a reflection of how little we know of the Queen's larger circle of friends and acquaintences, and of the company she enjoys.

I think alot of that has to do with our own perception of the Queen. We expect her to always be prim and proper, when in reality behind closed doors she may well be anything but.

One of the things I will always admire about the Queen is her constant ability to surprise us.

[Avareenah]

Whatever royal invitations Joan Rivers has had and for whatever reason, I simply cannot imagine her being a genuine friend of Queen Elizabeth.

I doubt the Queen would sit through one of her shows - Joan is foul-mouthed and talks about the most taboo topics as a matter of course.

Perhaps she got friendly with the Windsors through Camilla, who is known to have an "earthy" sense of humour?

Invitations from the Queen come for all sorts of reasons - not necessarily intimate friendship or even wholesale approval.

[Henri M.]

Originally Posted by Avareenah

Perhaps she got friendly with the Windsors through Camilla, who is known to have an "earthy" sense of humour?

Way before Camilla of Cornwall came on stage, Joan Rivers already has been invited by the Windors.

I would like to quote a Dutch parliamentarian who once stated in a debate; 'Myladies and gentlemen, we are discussing the royal family, not the Holy Family!'.



Anyone who has a bit of knowledge about Philip, Anne, Andrew, Harry will without any doubt recognize that the sort of humour by Joan Rivers suit them very well.